CITY TO PLAY IT COOL FOR A WHILE YET
THE cold shock from the weekend’s record-breaking wintry blast will likely continue this week with Townsville set to shiver through cool nights.
But the sun has returned to our days meaning warmer daytime temperatures. Yesterday the mercury plunged to a low of 10C, which was even colder than Saturday, one of the city’s coldest May mornings in more than 60 years.
Saturday got down to a low of 12.9C at 4.30pm at Townsville Airport.
Bureau of Meteorology meteorologist Rosa Hoff said Townsville reached a top of 16.6C on Saturday, which equalled the 1990 record, but the low was not enough to break the 1957 May minimum record of just 6.2C.
To the north, Lucinda recorded its coldest day on record.
“Things are really cold at Lucinda Point in particular this weekend. On Saturday they got to a maximum of 17.3C, which is actually the coldest maximum temperature they have ever recorded round the year, so it’s a new lowest annual record having broken the previous one from 2000,” Ms Hoff said.
Ayr recorded its coldest May day since 1990, when it reached just 14.3C on Saturday.
On Saturday Alva Beach reached 14.7C while Woolshed, southwest of Townsville, got to 10.7C and Charters Towers made it to just 11.5C – the coldest May day since 2012. Cold evenings are expected this week, although daytime temperatures will return to normal.
“Conditions for northern Queensland are going to return to normal around the middle to end of next week as we see those temps come back to usual,” Ms Hoff said.
“The sunshine has made a reappearance to our days, and has meant we have got warmer daytime temperatures but nights are going to stay colder for a little while longer.”
Townsville is expected to get to a high of 24C today, while Charters Towers is tipped to get to 22C with Ayr and Ingham getting to 23C.