Victorians have woken to a cold and rainy start to May, with another day of wet weather, wild wind and even snow.
Rain that lashed the state on Thursday continued into Friday, with some parts of Victoria already surpassing their total rainfall for 2019.
That included Melbourne, where the inner-city Olympic Park weather station recorded 374.4 millimetres of rain in 2019. In the first four months of 2020, it has already had 400.8 millimetres.
It was the city’s wettest April since 1960, with more than 138 millimetres of rain.
In the 24 hours to 9am on Friday, Melbourne’s east had 8 millimetres of rain – on top of the 40 millimetres in the same period to 9am Thursday. In the south-east, the figures were 15 millimetres to 9am Friday, after 40 millimetres for Thursday.
The Bureau of Meteorology warned Victorians to prepare for early wintry conditions, with a top of just 12 degrees forecast for Melbourne on Friday.
Low temperatures delivered snow to the state’s ski resorts. Falls Creek, Mount Buller and Mount Hotham were expecting as much as 40 centimetres by Saturday as the temperature fell below zero.
The chill and rain will persist across the state for several days, with the wind making it even feel colder, especially in Melbourne and along the coast.
The snowstorm continues at Hotham!
Posted by Hotham Alpine Resort on Thursday, April 30, 2020
No relief for NSW
Sydney and Canberra won’t escape the late-autumn blast, with Canberra expecting a top of just 7 degrees on Friday.
Snow has also fallen in NSW, and the weather bureau said parts of the state would have their first frosts this weekend.
The Bureau of Meteorology expected maximum temperatures in the single digits and mid-teens on Friday, with gusty westerly winds.
Meteorologist Helen Kirkup said the Snowy Mountains region could expect about 80 millimetres of rain on Friday, after a similar amount on Thursday.
Snow fell in the alpine region on Thursday and more is expected in coming days. It will reach into the south-west slopes and the Southern Tablelands.
Ms Kirkup said cold temperatures in Sydney would continue into the weekend but the rain should clear on Saturday.
“We’re going to see this front moving out into the Tasman and behind that we’ll see a high-pressure ridge start to strengthen across the region,” she said in a video shared by the bureau.
“With the skies clearing and this cold air mass, the night-time temperatures are going to start dropping so that we will see frost developing by Saturday night.”
There is a severe weather warning for southern NSW for Friday, with damaging westerly winds and gusts expected to develop.
Tweet from @BOM_ACT
Chill in the Sunshine state
Queensland hasn’t escaped the chill, with record low temperatures in the outback on Friday.
Applethorpe on the Southern Downs had a chilly start to the day, with the mercury falling to 5.1 degrees.
Brisbane and Ipswich were forecast to get to 24 and 25 degrees – “a good five degrees cooler than [Thursday]”, BOM senior forecaster Shane Kennedy said.
In outback Queensland, Thargomindah broke the 1989 record for the coldest April day on Thursday, with a maximum of just 18.5 degrees.
Birdsville also beat its 2015 record with a 20.6 degree day, and the Ballera Gas Fields had its coldest April day, with 18.9, since monitoring began there 18 years ago.
Granite Belt Wine and Tourism president Martin Cooper said it was “bloody cold” when he started work in his vineyard on Friday.
“I knew it was cold because the dogs just looked at me when I said, ‘Come on, get out’ – they just went back in front of the wood fire,” he told the ABC.
Mr Kennedy said skies should remain clear but cold winds would continue in the south-east.
“Starting from Monday, the winds will start to turn a little bit more easterly and start to slowly bring some moisture back,” he said.
BOM forecaster Kimba Wong said the Sunshine Coast hinterland was expected to fall as low as 6 degrees on Saturday, and coastal areas such as Maroochydore to 8 degrees.
-with agencies
The post May kicks off with no end to wintry chill across Australia’s south-east appeared first on The New Daily.
**Business and Marketing support on best price; Hit the link now----> http://bit.ly/2HsQmSi