City chills out in icy fog
AN icy blanket of frost and fog descended on Hobart as a slow-moving high pressure system swept across the city in the lead-up to winter.
The Bureau of Meteorology says it has been a particularly cold start to the winter season for Hobart, with Wednesday having the coldest morning so far this year at 3C.
Senior meteorologist Brooke Oakley said the fog was particularly thick in the low-lying valley regions.
She said Bushy Park was covered in fog for nearly all of Wednesday, cooling temperatures down to a maximum of 5C for the entire day.
“The cold starts and the dry conditions were caused by a slow-moving high pressure system which also led to areas of frost about Tasmania as a whole,” Ms Oakley said.
“People would notice in Hobart particularly thick fog over the Eastern Shore.
“On Wednesday the fog on the upper Derwent Valley didn’t move for the whole day.”
Ethereal fog obscured the Tasman Bridge on Thursday morning, stretching to Clarence and much of the Eastern Shore.
Ms Oakley said Hobart had seen a week of settled, dry weather, with the last drop of rain falling on May 20.
Despite the recent dry conditions, the month of May is still way above average in terms of rainfall due to Hobart receiving an 85mm drenching on May 6.
Heading into the weekend and beyond, Ms Oakley said there was a possibility of some more unpredictable weather compared to the last few settled days.
For the southwest of Tasmania, the bureau is forecasting a drier-than-average winter.
The forecasts suggest this winter will be warmer than average for most of Australia due to a negative Indian Ocean Dipole and slowly declining La Nina in the Pacific Ocean.
Rain is on the cards for the north of the state, with Launceston expected to receive several showers over the next week or so.
Winter officially begins on June 1.
Ben Lomond Snow Sports have signalled that the snow season will open for skiers on June 11.
The Ben Lomond mountain has already seen some early coatings of snow in the month leading up to the June long weekend.