While sweat and Queensland summer go hand-in-hand, people in the state’s west are reaching for cardigans as overnight December temperatures break record lows.
From Birdsville to the Gulf of Carpentaria, temperatures dropped to 11 degrees Celsius below average – a phenomenon forecasters describe as “very unusual”.
“I’ve been forecasting for a few decades now and I can’t really remember anything quite this spectacular as far as dry and cool at this time of year,” said Bureau of Meteorology forecaster David Bernard.
“It’s the sort of thing we often see in winter which usually leads to really cold winter nights, but we don’t often see it in December.”
Mount Isa had its lowest overnight December temperate ever on record at 12 degrees Celsius – 11C degrees below average.
“Burketown yesterday had a minimum of 17.7C which was the lowest they’d seen up there since 1920, but that was eclipsed today with 16C, and that’s the coldest December morning since 1907,” Mr. Bernard said.
“Richmond yesterday was 11.8C which was the lowest there in December since 1909.”
“[Yesterday], Longreach had its coolest morning at 14.9C and we may not have seen that since 1999.”
“Birdsville – it’s been well below average both day and night, and down in Thargomindah, yesterday was only 29°C – again very unusual for December to see temperate below 30C unless it’s raining,” he said.
According to Mr. Bernard, the significant drop in temperatures could be attributed to an air system moving in from the south.
“We’ve seen a very cold, dry southern airstream push right up through western Queensland.”
“You rarely get the southerly push right into the Gulf waters, hence the very unusual temperatures.”
“If you’re used to mid-twenties and you get temperate in the mid-teens, I think that’s pretty spectacular.”
Cool change is ‘like Christmas’
Anne Clarke from Brinawa Station, south of Burketown, said the cooler temperatures had been a welcome change.
“Because we’ve had those series of long droughts, it’s a change – just such a good change,” Ms. Clarke said.
“It’s like Christmas on a stick.”
“It just reminds you why you love the industry when you see the animals in such good order. Even the Wallabies are fat!”
Further south, longtime Blackall resident Peter Skewes said he remembered the sheep dying from cold weather in the past.
“We’ve had cold spells at Christmas before. I remember when I was a kid, somebody lost sheep from cold weather,” he said.
“They’d shorn their sheep, it then rained, and turned cold.”
Despite the cool change, warmer temperatures are expected to resume by the end of the week.
Comment: Every year more and more anomalous weather events are being reported all over the world, we’re even seeing changes in the seasons; in the US and Europe it’s unusually cold with some regions seeing record-breaking snowfall. Both hemispheres are recording more abrupt and harsher winters that’s leading to massive crop losses for farmers and a surge in commodity prices.
Mainstream science is failing to recognise the impact that our Sun’s activity, the lowest in 200 years, is having on our planet; we’re seeing a dramatic weakening of Earth’s geomagnetic field and more cosmic rays are entering into our atmosphere causing more cloud cover, and in tandem the polar jet streams are behaving erratically meandering further south for prolonged periods, causing the infamous ‘polar vortex’ phenomenon.
It’s clear there are great changes occurring on Earth and some point to the beginning of a mini ice age.
- Siberian snow theory points to early, frigid winter in the U.S.
- Fire and Ice: The Day After Tomorrow
- Rare heavy snow hits London, while 120 MPH snowstorms spawn ‘snow devils’
- Heaviest snowfall in four years brings travel chaos to the UK
- Rare snownado filmed at national park in Poland
- Thousands of ice balls wash up in the Gulf of Finland on the Russian coast
- Thunderstorm hits areas of the United Arab Emirates, hail blankets ground (VIDEOS)
- Temperatures in Siberia dropping to -79°F/-60°C and winter is just beginning
Read more at Scott
Do you remember all of those “hottest ever” headlines amplified and echoed by the mainstream media. These were often cases were the record was broken by only a hundredth of degree. Where are all of the “coldest ever” headlines?
Solar activity isn’t the only but is probably the single most significant factor controlling climate. With solar activity at its lowest point in 200 years, we will see a lot of impacts.
Too Funny and Too Politically Mind Blinded….
You choose to discuss a Cold Snap, even record cold (at least since the 20’s)
in ONE ( 1 ) REGION – Australia (attempting to draw world wide conclusions which are simply NOT TRUE)
( Simply said that is DECEITFUL )
…all the WHILE the ENTIRE EARTH IS EXPERIENCING its what appears to be
the 2nd WARMEST YEAR ON RECORD !
You are the purveyors of DISINFORMATION & PERVERSION in the name of political expediency.
YOU are enabling the THE WORLD’S WEALTH to be funneled into the pockets of the FOSSIL FUEL ENERGY Monopoly…some 4000 families…..controlling
about 6.5% of the entire WORLD’S GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT.
And in the land down under as w ell as Kiwi Land their seasons are reversed and this mean Al Bore and Leonardo DiCaprio are full of more prunes then 5000 acres date palms