Flood threat from king tides as temps plummet across Australia
King tides are threatening to cause flash flooding across Australia’s east coast as a cold snap sweeps through the country.
Temperatures across the southern half of Queensland are expected to drop up to six degrees below the July average by the weekend as a wave of cold air pushes through from the south.
The Bureau of Meteorology said king tides are expected over the next few days along Australia’s east coast and to check with local councils regarding road closures and potential flooding.
The drop in temperatures hit with Roma, west of Brisbane, dropping to minus 1.7 degrees Celsius on Friday morning.
Those regions are expected to get even colder on Saturday and Sunday with overnight minimums forecast to drop to as low as minus 6 degrees in some areas.
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Brisbane temperatures are forecast to drop well into single digits over the weekend with forecast lows of 6 degrees on Saturday and Sunday.
Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Chris Joseph said the cold air is expected to penetrate much of the southern half of the state and possibly up into the lower regions of the Gulf.
“We’re sort of drawing a line of anywhere south of Boulia to Rockhampton, anywhere south of that latitude is the area in the frost-prone zone I guess you’d call it,” Mr Joseph told AAP.
Despite the chilly mornings, Mr Joseph said daytime temperatures are expected to be relatively stable with Brisbane and other south-east regions forecast to reach the early 20s.
The bureau expects cold temperatures to persist until early next week when overnight lows will increase back towards July averages.
Melbourne residents are expected to shiver through Saturday morning with a low of 3 degrees and Canberra will be even colder at -5.
Sydney will have a top of 17 degrees on both Saturday and Sunday while Perth will have showers and a high of 18 degrees.
