Get ready, Canberra. We’re facing a cold, windy weekend that could even see a scattering of snow across the Brindabellas, as more rain is scheduled to hit the Territory this afternoon.
Yesterday, we saw around 15-30mm of rain recorded in gauges across Canberra, with Watson having 25mm, Yarralumla 27mm, and 20mm at the airport.
BOM meteorologist Helen Kirkup said we’re expecting a second rainband to come through Canberra later today, potentially bringing storms to the party.
“We do expect rainfall today that will be similar to yesterday; there is a chance that there may be some thunderstorms within that which would bring heavier falls.”
According to Ms Kirkup, the Canberra weather forecast might see some busting out the flannelette sheets Saturday night with a cold front moving in.
“Colder air will come through Saturday night … We’re going to see temperatures, particularly overnight and Sunday morning, dropping to around 6 or 7 degrees.
“There is the possibility that overnight on Saturday there will be some showers that fall as snow up on Brindabellas. We may wake up to see a dusting of snow up there, but it won’t last very long.
“It’s going to bring some fairly strong gusty winds across northern parts of Canberra, and will certainly noticeable across Namadgi, the Brindabellas … on Sunday we expect strong gusty winds as well,” she said.
At some point later today, strong wind warnings could be issued for the ACT.
Ms Kirkup said this isn’t unusually cold Canberra weather for April, but it might be a bit shocking given it’s our first cold snap of the year.
“This kind of cold in mid-winter wouldn’t be a big thing, but because it’s autumn and it’s the first cold, it is a big thing because no one is used to that.
“The average minimum in Canberra for April is 7 degrees. I know it’s early in April but it is that transition season in autumn where you do see those cold fronts that in summer don’t push very far north,” she said.
Canberra’s lowest April minimum was minus-3.7 degrees back in 1999, while the lowest maximum was 8 degrees on 4 April 1986.
For those alarmed this weekend’s forecast is a sign of more to come, Ms Kirkup advised winter’s not coming early this year.
Following this eventful stretch of weather, a high-pressure system will develop, bringing with it “much more stable weather”.
“We’ll get the skies clearing and very cool nights, days will warm up a bit more with more sun, in general the winds will ease up a fair bit,” Ms Kirkup said.
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