Advertisement

Sydney suffers coldest morning

Temperatures in Sydney chilled to their coldest in five years on Wednesday morning.

The Sydney Observation Hill Weather Station recorded a temperature of five degrees, Weatherzone told The New Daily.

That made it the NSW capital city’s coldest morning since June 2010.

More cash, more cancellations in Bali
Penalty rates under threat as Abbott mulls IR changes
Senate inquiry says turbines ‘dangerous’

The coldest temperatures in the Greater Sydney area were found at Horsely Park to the west of the city, at minus 0.2 degrees and north at Terry Hills which hit 1.5 degrees.

These crystal clear skies contributed to Sydney's record cold morning. Photo: Twitter/Samantha Dawson

These crystal clear skies contributed to Sydney’s record cold morning. Photo: Twitter/Samantha Dawson

Weatherzone told The New Daily the chilly conditions are thanks to a combination of the back end of a cold air mass that moved through Sydney on Sunday to Monday – plus light winds and clear skies.

Remarkably, only 95 km to the east of Sydney’s centre, firefighters are still battling to get a bushfire under control in the Blue Mountains.

Despite that, temperatures overnight while the fire raged sat at minus one degree.

It’s an odd series of weather events, but not as improbable as many would expect, say experts.

“It seems to be hard wired in our brains that high temperatures equal bushfires, but it’s not the case,” Professor David Bowman, from the University of Tasmania, told AAP.

“The real take home (message) with the Blue Mountains fire is that if you have dry fuels and high winds, you can have fires at any time of the year.”

On Monday, Fairfax reported Sydney had just been through its longest cold snap in 26 years while NSW had its frostiest July since 1997.

Clifton Beach in Tasmania turned unusually white, thanks to snowfall. Photo: Higgins Storm Chasing/Facebook

Clifton Beach in Tasmania turned unusually white, thanks to snowfall. Photo: Higgins Storm Chasing/Facebook

Tasmania turns white

Snow continues to fall in Tasmania, with snow reaching sea level in Hobart for the first time since 2005.

The city’s beaches and central business district even got a dusting.

Launceston in the state’s north saw snow despite its clear and sunny forecast, as did Burnie in the north-west.

Bureau of Meteorology spokesman Tristan Oakley said the state’s west, where snow had also reached sea level, “could be quite bad for most of the day, into the evening”.

Snowfalls in Hobart are rare — the last time the CBD experienced a “dump of snow” was on July 25, 1986 when the Tasman Bridge was closed.

– with AAP and ABC

Stay informed, daily
A FREE subscription to The New Daily arrives every morning and evening.
The New Daily is a trusted source of national news and information and is provided free for all Australians. Read our editorial charter
Copyright © 2024 The New Daily.
All rights reserved.