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The late June arrival of Jack Frost for NSW

Kim Westcott, Wednesday June 29, 2016 - 09:55 AEST

Looking back over the month, it has certainly been one of contrasts over New South Wales.

Overnight temperatures have generally trended on the warmer side for much of the month. For parts of the Upper Western, such are Wanaaring, Cobar and Tibooburra this is the warmest June in 15 years or more.

These warm nights haven't been confined to the Upper Western either, much of the the Northern Tablelands have broken records that extend back to the late 1990s and early noughties. It is a similar tale for parts of the Hunter, Central Tablelands, North West Slopes and Plains.

It be attributed to to bumper rain events that we have seen earlier this month, which brought days of cloud and rain. Many locations have had more than double their monthly average. Some towns such as Lightning Ridge and Cooma have seen over five times their monthly average. At times, this rain was torrential, leading to widespread flooding for eastern rivers.

This past week, a distinct change is in the air. The first powerful cold front of the season moved over the state on Friday rapidly followed by another on Sunday/Monday. Between these two systems, there was enough cold air to bring snow to the northern NSW border and beyond. In fact, June 26th was the coldest June day on record statewide. As these two systems have had rapid clearing behind them, the spell of mild nights has been broken.

With mostly clear skies and light winds, there will be more cold nights than not over the next fortnight. Regular cold fronts moving over southern areas will replenish the supply of cold air over the state, bringing a cold day or two. It is the rapid rebuilding of high pressure behind these fronts that will mean that cold nights are likely to come in frequent waves as we head into mid-winter, at least on and west of the ranges.

- Weatherzone

© Weatherzone 2016

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