Heat up to 12°C above normal expected in southeastern Australia — ABC News Australia
Temperatures in southeastern Australia may exceed the seasonal norm by 12°C this weekend following a sharp cold spell brought by Antarctic air. The warmest air is arriving from the country’s northwest and has already caused dozens of temperature records in Western Australia, ABC News Australia reports.
The warmest September days in several years
Canberra is forecast to reach up to 25°C on Sunday, which could make it the warmest September day in three years. Hobart is expected to reach 27°C, potentially its highest September temperature in seven years, while Melbourne is forecast to reach 27°C, its highest in three years.
In central Sydney, temperatures may reach 28°C on Saturday and Sunday. In the city’s western suburbs, where there will be no influence from the sea breeze, temperatures of 30°C to 34°C are expected. Inland areas of the country’s southeast are forecast to see temperatures in the low to mid-30s °C; in Mildura and Griffith, they could also become the highest for September in several years.
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Cold air will return after the heat
Before the warming, Antarctic air lowered temperatures in southeastern Australia to 10°C below normal. In Tasmania, snow fell almost to sea level, while in Goulburn the temperature dropped to −7°C, only half a degree above the monthly record.
The heat is expected to be replaced just as quickly by a new polar air mass from the Southern Ocean. Temperatures may fall by 10–15°C within 24 hours. The cold spell is expected to reach Adelaide in the middle of Sunday, Melbourne and Hobart in the evening, and Canberra and Sydney on Monday.
Summer forecast
Models also indicate the likelihood of an abnormally warm October and November. An averaged forecast from nine models, including Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology, projects that average temperatures in the region in December–February could be 1–2°C above the 1993–2016 average. The article notes that compared with the cooler 1961–1990 climate baseline, this forecast is 0.82°C warmer than shown on the map and could threaten the record set in the summer of 2018–2019.
