May 17th 2024.
A sudden polar blast has descended upon the eastern coast, bringing with it powerful gusts of wind. The chilling effects of this arctic air mass can be felt across various regions of New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. Even Queensland will feel the cold front, although not as intensely as the southern parts of the coast. The impact of this wintry storm has been widespread, freezing Tasmania on Friday and now moving further north.
New South Wales has been issued gale wind warnings for several coastal areas including Byron, Macquarie, Hunter, Sydney, and Illawarra on Saturday. Hazardous surf warnings have also been issued for the Hunter, Sydney, and Illawarra coasts, with gale-force winds expected to continue into Sunday for the Byron, Coffs, and Macquarie coasts. On Sunday, strong wind warnings have been issued for the Hunter, Sydney, Illawarra Coast, Batemans, and Eden coasts. The cold front may also bring showers and even hail to the southern alpine regions over the next two days, with temperatures not expected to rise above 19 degrees.
In Victoria, the East Gippsland Coast will experience strong winds on Saturday, while Melbourne's temperature will stay cool at 14 degrees. The East and Central Gippsland Coasts will continue to experience strong winds on Sunday, with temperatures reaching a high of 16 degrees. No other weather warnings have been issued for Victoria.
Meanwhile, South Australia is bracing for frost as temperatures are expected to drop below -1 on Saturday morning. The Upper South East and Lower South East forecast districts are likely to see the most frost. The Bureau of Meteorology has warned that temperatures on the ground may be lower than those recorded by standard weather stations, especially in calm conditions with clear skies. There are currently no wind warnings for South Australia.
The cold front is also making its way to lower parts of Queensland, with strong wind warnings issued for areas such as the South East Gulf of Carpentaria, Sunshine Coast, and Gold Coast on Saturday. The Torres Strait, Peninsula Coast, and Cairns Coast are also expected to experience strong winds. Although temperatures won't be as cold, a warm 25 degrees is forecasted for Saturday before cooling down to 23 degrees on Sunday. Wind strength is expected to increase on Sunday as the front moves through, with Gale Wind warnings issued for the Sunshine and Gold Coasts. Strong winds are also expected for other areas such as the South East Gulf of Carpentaria, Torres Strait, Peninsula Coast, Cooktown Coast, Cairns Coast, Townsville Coast, Mackay Coast, Capricornia Coast, and K'gari Coast.
Over in Tasmania, gale and strong winds are expected over the weekend, particularly for the South East and South West Coasts on Saturday and Sunday. Other areas such as the South West Lakes region, Far North West Coast, Banks Strait and Franklin Sound, East of Flinders Island, and Central West Coast have also been issued with strong wind warnings for both days. On Sunday, strong wind warnings have been issued for the Far North West Coast, Central North Coast, Banks Strait and Franklin Sound, East of Flinders Island, Lower East Coast, and Central West Coast.
While the rest of the country may be experiencing the effects of this polar blast, Perth is expected to reach a warm 29 degrees today. However, wind gusts of up to 70km/h may be possible in the Hills and Foothills this morning, leading to high fire danger warnings across the city. Meanwhile, Darwin will see temperatures of 34 degrees on both Saturday and Sunday, with moderate winds of up to 25km/h in the morning that will ease by the afternoon.
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