Expect rain and wind to continue tomorrow – with possibly even a hint of light hail and some thunderstorms – with a “vigorous” cold front making its way over the ACT this expected to pass by Sunday.
With a maximum of 7 degrees forecast for tomorrow, taking wind chill into account it will feel like in the minuses, hovering around the 0-degree mark.
We can also expect flurries of snow around the ACT on Saturday that won’t land in town due to Canberra being in a rain shadow.
On Saturday, westerly winds will reach 25-40km/h, while come Sunday the rain should mitigate, and the wind will be a little weaker – in the 25-35km/h range.
Conditions should ease by Sunday afternoon as the last of the fronts passes, and a high-pressure system develops over the region.
BOM Meteorologist Alex Majchrowski said that wind will have eased off thanks to that high-pressure system moving in which is expected to dominate the coming week and bring with it some frosty mornings.
“It’s going from wet and windy to cold, unfortunately, and that cold will stick around for a while,” he said.
Mr Majchrowski said that high pressure system will make the weather a lot colder as we move toward spring, especially when combined with clear skies and calmer winds.
“With that we’ll see increase in morning frost over the next week … Most minimums will be below zero from Monday onward,” he said.
Canberra’s minimum temperatures have been above average for much of the last week due largely to a combination of both wind and rain.
After starting August with a full week of days with minimums below 1 degree – with the thermometer dipping to minus-4 on 6 August – only two of the preceeding 14 days have recorded minimums lower than 1 degree.
Despite this, winter won’t be leaving Canberra without a fight in 2020. The BOM’s forecast for 24-27 August predicts all sub-zero minimums.
#BeFireSafe
With BOM predicting below average temperatures for the next week, ACT Fire & Rescue encourage the community to #BeFireSafe, especially when using heaters for an extended period of time, to reduce the risk of a fire starting.
Simple steps you can take to #BeFireSafe include:
- Keeping clothes clear of heaters
- Keeping excess bedding off electric blankets and making sure they’re turned off when not in use
- Keeping watch on common causes of fire including open flames
- Always switching off sources of heating when sleeping or leaving the house.
For more information on how you can #BeFireSafe, visit esa.act.gov.au
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