Four states to be smashed by an unseasonal cold blast this weekend
Four Aussie states are set to be smashed by an unseasonal cold burst this weekend, according to meteorological service Weatherzone.
A cold front and trough are gliding across the Southern Ocean and they will likely hit South Australia on Friday and Saturday. If you just breathed a sigh of relief because you’re in NSW, Tasmania or Victoria there’s unfortunately bad news for you too because parts of those states will also be feeling the chill by Saturday.
On Sunday, the same weather event is likely to bring heavy rain to parts of Queensland. From Sunday to Tuesday, wintery weather will continue due to a series of cold fronts which will deliver a polar mass. Snow is possible in alpine regions of Victoria and Tasmania.
Luckily the rain isn't expected to be as heavy as the storms which drenched the eastern states this week, causing severe flooding. Sydney is expected to be largely shielded from the weather event.
What's behind the unseasonal weather events?
Weatherzone meteorologist Yoska Hernandez said the unseasonal heavy rainfall is being fuelled by La Niña, which is ongoing in the Pacific and increasing the amount of tropical moisture.
50 degree weather extremes impact Australia
On Wednesday, ACT residents reported it was snowing. Although meteorologists quickly corrected them by announcing it was actually graupel — a type of soft hail. However, this week it was revealed snow fell across parts of the Snowy Mountains and Tasmania.
Hot air masses building up in the tropics and regular pulses of cold air in southern Australia, saw the nation experience a 50-degree temperature differential within a 12-hour period this week. Fitzroy Crossing in Western Australia hit 43 degrees on Tuesday at 2.40pm, while Mount Hotham in Victoria plummeted to -7 degrees at 4.42am on Wednesday.
Weatherzone said similar temperature extremes occurred in 2018, when the difference between Thredbo in NSW and Kununurra in Western Australia was almost 50 degrees within 24 hours.
While the wintery weather this November has been historically unseasonal, Australians can expert more extreme weather in the coming years. Floods, storms and drought should be expected, Ms Hernandez said.
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