Weather News

Tropical weather takes a holiday under winter's grip

Kim Westcott, Wednesday July 13, 2016 - 15:43 AEST

While southern Australia has battled brisk winds, squally showers, hail and snow during the past few days, tropical areas are also being affected.

A passing front has left a large pool of cold and unstable air behind in the upper atmosphere. This upper cold air is interacting with a deepening, moist low pressure trough, causing a rain-bearing cloud band to develop from WA's northwest, through the NT and into western and central QLD.

So far, it has been this cloud band that led to a chilly day for all those under its extensive span. In the Kimberley, Halls Creek had its coldest day in nine years, only reaching 14.6 degrees yesterday, 13 degrees below average. Today the persistent cloud held Alice Springs to a top of just 11 degrees, nine degrees below average and its coldest day in two years.

In QLD, Wednesday has been the coldest day in five years for Mount Isa, Cannington, Camooweal and Phosphate Hill and four years for Cloncurry and Longreach, seven-to-eleven degrees below average.

As these multiple systems interact further with each other, large parts of QLD can expect areas of heavy rain, thicker cloud, colder days and gusty winds near the coast.

Unseasonably heavy rain will begin in earnest for parts of QLD during Thursday, deepening and intensifying by Friday and Saturday. The heaviest rain looks to be between Bundaberg to Townville and extending as far inland to about Longreach, with a ballpark figure of 50-100mm for this area, although 100-200mm is also not out of the question for some places during this multi-day event. Western QLD and throughout northern and central parts of the NT will also receive falls in the region of 20-40mm.

Days of rain and thick cloud will have a significant impact of temperatures throughout, with many places potentially having their coldest day in around five-to-ten years, with July rainfall records also potentially tumbling.

- Weatherzone

© Weatherzone 2016

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