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Australia: in the midst of winter an invincible summer

Max Gonzalez, Saturday July 23, 2016 - 13:18 AEST

The fact that Terra Australis is a land of extremes is not a new concept. Considered as a land of droughts and flooding rains, Australian weather rarely fails to deliver.

The past week is a good example of such extremes and a good reminder of the underlying global warming. For a few days, Australia followed Albert Camus to the letter by finding in the midst of winter an invincible summer.

In Adelaide, daytime temperatures soared to 22.7 degrees on Thursday (7.4 degrees above the July average) making it the warmest July day in 14 years.

Further south, Melbourne's 18 degrees on Thursday and Friday might have not been so significant but none the less it was five degrees above the norm.

Further north, Sydney reached a balmy 25.7 degrees on Friday, only 0.2 degrees shy of the warmest July day on record which was set in 1990.

Despite this past week's warm spell and a warm start to the winter overall, Australians have been blessed with some cold weather more in line with the current season.

During the last week in June, southeastern Australia saw some significant cooling as strong cold fronts marched over the region. In fact, New South Wales registered its coldest June day on record on the 26th with a statewide average maximum of 9.56 °C.

Cold temperatures and plenty of cold fronts lead to significant snowfalls across the Alpine region during late June and early July. Spencer's Creek in the Snowy Mountains had accumulated 122cm of snow by July 14th.

But this warm spell took its toll, with 30cm of snow melt at Spencer's Creek by Tuesday 19th. At the peak of the heat event on Thursday and Friday, people in the Alps will have seen snow literally being washed away before their eyes as 114mm of rain (yes rain!) fell at Mount Hotham in two days, 80mm at Falls Creek, 83mm at Mount Buller, 95mm at Thredbo Top Station and 178mm at Perisher.

Luckily, some snow is underway for the Alps, with the Apple Isle already waking up this morning to snow down to 200m. However this is just a reminder that in the land of extremes, such events are increasing in frequency, duration and intensity in a world of climate change.

- Weatherzone

© Weatherzone 2016

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A very wet weekend for southeast Qld, northeast NSW

11:48 AEST A prolonged rainfall event is set to bring large totals to parts of NSW and Qld from Saturday, with possible heavy falls and flooding. A low-pressure system in the Coral Sea, a deepening coastal trough and persistent easterlies will bring moisture-laden air into southeast Qld and northeast NSW will bring days of rainfall to the region. While there is not a drop of rain on the radar over southeast Qld and Northeast NSW on Friday morning, the mass of cloud associated with a low in the Coral Sea will enhance rainfall over the weekend.