Sunshine Coasters are rugging up after a sudden cool change, and low overnight temperatures are set to remain for the rest of the week.
The gauge dipped to 8 degrees Celsius (and an apparent temperature of 6 degrees Celsius) at the region’s main weather station at Marcoola yesterday, to give locals a taste of winter a month in advance.
That’s significantly below the average minimum temperature for early May.
The Bureau of Meteorology’s Danny Johnson said it would have been a shock to the system for many locals.
“It certainly was cold,” he said.
“Usually, it’s about 14 degrees Celsius at Maroochydore at this time of year.
“But there is a big high in the (Great Australian) Bight that is moving into the Tasman (Sea) and we’ve got this southerly surge coming up, so it’s pushing up these cold winds from down south and creating a cool, dry air mass over south-east Queensland.”
The temperature plummeted to 0 degrees Celsius at Oakey overnight.
“That gives you an indication of how cold it got,” Mr Johnson said.
“There were some cool temperatures around the Darling Downs and the Granite Belt. It was the coldest morning in south-east Queensland this year.”
It was the second coldest day on the Sunshine Coast in almost nine months, behind a rogue day in early November, when the temperature dropped to 7.7 degrees Celsius.
Mr Johnson said cool mornings “will continue for the rest of the week”.
Expect daily minimums between 11 to 14 degrees Celsius on the Sunshine Coast until at least Monday, but it could feel cooler than that because of southerly winds.
Mr Johnson wasn’t sure what the next few weeks would bring, before winter arrives in earnest.
“The outlook beyond seven days is pretty uncertain at this stage,” he said.
“The weather pattern now is pushing these southerlies up, but if we get another weather pattern during the next week or two that brings down northerlies, then it will warm up, but it’s too uncertain to say.”
Sunshine Coast residents had enjoyed relatively warm conditions in recent months before the cool snap on Tuesday.
“It felt like a bit of a late summer really,” Mr Johnson said.
Meanwhile, some large waves were present along the coastline during the long weekend.
“The swell was caused by a big low in the Coral Sea,” Mr Johnson said.
“It’s moved away now, and the swell has settled down a bit and will continue to settle down during the next few days.”
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