SOUTHERN CHILL IS CLOSING IN
NORTH Queensland’s first taste of winter will hit this weekend, with parts of the region forecast to dip to singledigit temperatures.
A cold blast moving from the south is expected to push north, bringing chilly winds.
The Bureau of Meteorology’s Kimba Wong said the temperatures would plummet to “quite wintry conditions” over the next couple of days, even in the North.
Ms Wong said the weather would hit “particularly through the southern and central inland parts of the state in the next couple of days, with minimums coming down into the low single digits in most areas”.
“Those cold temperatures are going to be felt throughout the wider state of Queensland as we head through the weekend,” she said. “That cold, dry air mass pushing up into the northern part of the state as well, particularly along the central coast; Mackay we’re expecting those minimums to come down to about 9C or 10C over the weekend.
“And even up to Townsville, we’re expecting a minimum of 11C on Saturday morning, so very chilly conditions there for the start of the month.”
Weather chaser Thomas Hinterdorfer said the effects of a “big dust storm” would reach the coast late yesterday or early today, even pushing into the Gulf of Carpentaria.
“It’s expected to be quite a thick dust storm across inland areas, however it’s more likely to turn to ‘just’ dust haze by the time it reaches the tropics and coastline,” Mr Hinterdorfer said. “It will still be noticeable for those with breathing difficulties.”