NorthNSW

I agree, that would help to give the cold pulse of air that extra bit of edge.Btw, I looked up the maximum temps for the southern capitals on the day of the synoptic above (1/12/1999): Perth - 21.7ºC Adelaide - 34.8ºC Melbourne - 35.2ºC Hobart - 35.2ºC Canberra - 30.1ºC Sydney - 25.3ºC I think Sydney would probably be the pick of the bunch on that day. ~~~~ A light shower yesterday has pushed us up to exactly 1400mm for the year so far, so even if we don't quite reach 1484.6mm by the end of the year, I think you could still call it an average year of rainfall.

I reckon the Perth cold / Hobart hot Christmas day synoptic map would have looked somewhat similar to this synoptic chart from Dec 1st 1999 The stereotypical setup for heatwaves in Southeastern Australia is for a High to sitting in the Tasman Sea helping to direct winds into an approaching frontal/trough system, and funnelling these often hot and dry air over the southeast of the continent from the interior (the moist E/NE'lies blown onto the east coast tend to dry out by the time they reach the interior). Most of the country experienced dry conditions from around 1940 to 1945, which would have aided in creation of heatwaves to an extent (in Central Australia: little/no cloudcover + low humidity = heat buildup). A temp below 20 degrees is quite cool for Perth in December, and it probably suggests that a cold front passed through the region with thick cloudcover. A good chance it had precipitation accompanying it too, which would have helped keep temperatures down so low. It probably would have come through in the morning, around 8-9am with the peak of the system passing through during daylight hours. It would be cool if there were an archive somewhere for synoptic charts for Australia. You'd be able to check the past synoptic patterns with extreme events. BOM only has the maps publically available back to 1999.

Canberra's coldest Christmas Day was in 1947 (and the hottest in 1957).

Great link Styx. I always wondered if there was a database somewhere for daily records, rather than trawling through each individual year on BOM, lol. For the site nearest to me available on that Uni Melbourne database: Coffs Harbour (60kms north of here): Hottest Christmas Day - 38.2ºC (1957) Coldest Christmas Day - 22.7ºC (1995) It is quite rare to get a day below 20ºC here from around right now (mid Dec) until the end of March. A max below 20ºC has never occurred in February (record low Feb max: 20.1ºC). Just realised you forgot Darwin Hottest Christmas Day: 34.9ºC (1961) Coldest Christmas Day: 27.9ºC (1997)

Summary here over the past week (Date/Min/Max/MaxWindGustDirection&Time/24hrRainfall): Dec 2nd - 21.2ºC/29.1ºC - NE 44km/h @ 10:47am - 1.0mm Dec 3rd - 21.6ºC/26.3ºC - SW 37km/h @ 3:14am - 34.4mm Dec 4th - 20.0ºC/27.9ºC - NNW 41km/h @ 11:14pm - Nil Dec 5th - 14.2ºC/29.8ºC - SSW 35km/h @ 8:42am - Nil Dec 6th - 14.0ºC/25.2ºC - S 28km/h @ 9:27am - Nil Dec 7th - 17.3ºC/25.7ºC - NNE 35km/h @ 3:01pm - Nil Dec 8th - 19.6ºC/26.3ºC - NE 46km/h @ 11:25am - 5.0mm Past week: A trough brought thunderstorms to the area during the 2nd, 3rd and into the early hours of the 4th, with some severe storms occurring across the region. One of the storms we received was quite lightning active and occurred in the early hours of the 4th (before 9am, so rainfall attributed to the 3rd). The trough moved through during the 4th bringing drier and stable air behind it. The dry air persisted on the 5th and for most of the 6th, before the wind turned NE'ly and very quickly brought an increase in humidity. The 14ºC minimums on the 5th and 6th are quite cool for this time of year. A trough approached the region yesterday (8th), with some thundery rain in the afternoon. This week (Dec 9th to Dec 15th): A trough is sitting near the region, with storms currently firing on the ranges and faint distant thunder here. The wind shear this afternoon is not favourable for storms to reach the coastline, but a slight chance does remain. From late tonight and through until Tuesday night, a trough will sit offshore of the coast and combine with humid winds to bring some showers over this period, mainly during the evening/night. Slight chance of a storm during this period too. Weak onshore winds during Wednesday and Thursday bring the risk of a light shower or two, but overall, it should be mostly fine. A ridge of high pressure is expected to bring fine conditions through Friday and Saturday.

Lol. It was actually named after the UK's Tamworth though (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamworth,_New_South_Wales) Several storms here since yesterday afternoon, including quite a lightning active storm in the early hours of this morning (Dec 4th). Summer is off to a stormy start. Already a couple of short videos uploaded onto YouTube of the Tamworth storm:

Some decent storms in the west of the region at the moment, including quite a severe storm at Tamworth which has got a special mention in the current Severe Storm Warning: SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING for LARGE HAILSTONES and DAMAGING WIND For people in the Northern Tablelands and parts of the Northern Rivers, Mid North Coast, Hunter, Central Tablelands and North West Slopes and Plains Forecast Districts. Issued at 3:45 pm Monday, 3 December 2012. Severe thunderstorms are likely to produce large hailstones and damaging winds in the warning area over the next several hours. Locations which may be affected include Grafton, Scone, Armidale, Tenterfield, Glen Innes, Inverell, Tamworth, Casino, Tabulam, Maclean, Dorrigo and Glenreagh. 1. Maximum gust recorded at Tamworth automatic weather station was 53kt (98km/h). 2. Storm spotter from Tamworth area reported hail of size 3.5cm. 3. Storm spotter reported cricket ball sized hail from Tamworth. 4. Reports of window and roof damage in Tamworth. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Cricket ball sized hail!!!!!!! Yikes.

Summary here over the past week (Date/Min/Max/MaxWindGustDirection&Time/24hrRainfall): Nov 25th - 20.5ºC/28.0ºC - NNE 61km/h @ 12:20pm - Nil Nov 26th - 18.8ºC/28.0ºC - NNE 59km/h @ 3:11pm - Nil Nov 27th - 20.7ºC/28.1ºC - NNE 44km/h @ 3:13pm - Nil Nov 28th - 20.9ºC/26.2ºC - SSW 50km/h @ 12:49am - Nil Nov 29th - 19.6ºC/27.6ºC - SSE 26km/h @ 12:10pm - Nil Nov 30th - 20.8ºC/28.5ºC - NE 52km/h @ 11:36am - Nil Dec 1st - 21.1ºC/28.6ºC - NE 59km/h @ 1:43pm - Nil Past week: The weak steering winds kept storms on the ranges and eastern slopes. There was the odd light spit of rain during the week but not enough to register in the gauge. It has been a humid week, and also rather difficult at times to get some sleep. The afternoon NE'ly sea breeze does provide relief from the humidity, but it is still fairly easy to work up a sweat if you're moving around. This week (Dec 2nd to Dec 8th): A trough will stall about the region today and tomorrow, and combined with warm and humid conditions, it will bring the risk of a storm or two on both days. The trough will weaken and move away to the north during Tuesday morning, with fine conditions expected to persist for the remainder of the week as we come under the influence of a high pressure system. The humidity and warmth should ease off a bit through Wednesday, Thursday and Friday too. A trough should approach the north of the state on Saturday, but it will still be some distance away and should remain dry here on the coast.

A rather "traditional" first day of summer here: Sticky night (21.1ºC min) followed by a warm and humid day (28.6ºC max) with NE'ly sea breezes. UV Index now at 13: It usually peaks around 14-15 here for several days in late December or early January. Some years there have been a couple of days in late December with a UV Index of 16. The highest I've experienced was a couple of years ago in Armidale (at 1000m ASL on the ranges to my west), where the UV Index reached 18 on two days in December. In the warmer months when driving in the car with the windows down, I have a habit of sitting my right arm on the flat part of the car door window (the border between the interior and exterior of the car). Driving back from Newcastle during the middle of the day in mid January a couple of years ago, I pretty much had my arm sitting in the sun for 4½ hours which resulted in a nasty sunburn. I have areas of scarring on my right arm from it, because parts of the sunburn turned into an oozing mess (was then bandaged at hospital and they put some kind of silver cream on it). My ancestors came from Germany and Scandinavia, so I have fair skin and blue eyes. Which means that I have to be careful about being in the sun too long from around Oct until March, but sometimes you forget to protect yourself!

Nice job Bob with the lightning photos. A couple of videos on YouTube from the storms on the weekend of the 17th/18th Nov: From Nov 17th: Seven News coverage of the (poorly-warned) storm that went through Brisbane late that morning: http-~~-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jmFb9vuGnU Also from the 17th: damage in Woodburn, a small town here in Northern NSW: http-~~-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXt1zm1weXc From Nov 18th: I like how suddenly the wind arrives in this video: http-~~-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=tF5eMAJWfWU The hail is rather impressive in this video, it picks up after 1:00. http-~~-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=uh9S0MdSYpk Summary here over the past week (Date/Min/Max/MaxWindGustDirection&Time/24hrRainfall): Nov 18th - 17.8ºC/22.7ºC - S 52km/h @ 11:50am - 5.0mm Nov 19th - 13.7ºC/23.4ºC - SSW 50km/h @ 8:31pm - Nil Nov 20th - 13.5ºC/24.0ºC - S 63km/h @ 1:14pm - Nil Nov 21st - 15.4ºC/24.8ºC - SW 31km/h @ 12:47am - Nil Nov 22nd - 18.3ºC/26.0ºC - S 43km/h @ 10:49am - Nil Nov 23rd - 18.2ºC/23.1ºC - SW 28km/h @ 7:20am - Nil Nov 24th - 17.5ºC/25.8ºC - NE 52km/h @ 1:48pm - Nil Past week: The showers cleared during the morning on the 18th, as the trough moved further north and away. Some passing light drizzly showers on the 20th but not enough to register in the gauge. A trough moved through mid morning on the 22nd, which was too early for storms to have a chance of developing. It became humid on the 24th as winds swung to the NE, and storms fired up on the ranges with the anvils spreading here toward the coast providing some relief from the afternoon sun. This week (Nov 25th to Dec 1st): Summer is definitely arriving this week, with a noticeable jump in humidity and persistent warm to very warm temps. A trough should sit across NSW all this week, fed by humid NE'ly winds. Unstable conditions are expected to persist until at least Friday. Yesterday (25th) saw thunderstorms developing on the ranges, and there was some light spitting anvil rain here in the evening (but not enough to register). Today, storms have developed on the ranges once again. Unfortunately for those of us right on the coastline, the weak steering winds will mean the majority of storms will stay on the ranges and the coastal hinterland (Booo!! ). Wednesday and Thursday provide a little glimmer of hope for a storm here on the coastal fringe, with a bit of an improvement in shear expected. However, it is certainly within the realm of possibility that no rain could be recorded here this week given the fickle nature of storms.

About 50 or so Australian Weather Cams on this site: http://webcams.bsch.au.com/index.html Most of them are in Southeastern Queensland, but there are some here in Northern NSW (Bonny Hills, Tamworth, Lismore, Newcastle, Murrurundi), a couple in Darwin, one near Sydney, and another in Adelaide. The nearest camera to me is at Bonny Hills, and it is in my signature. There are two live streams on that site from Redcliffe and Surfers Paradise in SE Queensland. There are about 75 live streaming cameras at http://www.coastalwa...raOverview.aspx Most of them are in Queensland and New South Wales. I have the live cam here at South West Rocks in my signature as well (although it seems to be down at present).

Sorry about the disappearance, I have had Uni work and other things to deal with, and haven't had much freetime of late. The local weather station has been throwing up some strange temps lately and has been online/offline several times, so I'm using Coffs Harbour temp obs until further notice (the rainfall is still what I record in my own gauge). I thought I may as well throw in Coffs' max wind obs too. Coffs experiences very similar weather to here. So while I have been slacking off, lol: Summary here since October 23rd (Date/Min/Max/MaxWindGustDirection&Time/24hrRainfall): Oct 23rd - 13.2ºC/22.0ºC - SW 69km/h @ 11:15pm - Nil Oct 24th - 13.5ºC/22.0ºC - S 35km/h @ 9:03am - Nil Oct 25th - 9.6ºC/25.6ºC - NE 56km/h @ 1:19pm - Nil Oct 26th - 14.4ºC/25.8ºC - SSW 33km/h @ 7:13am - Nil Oct 27th - 17.2ºC/22.8ºC - SSW 52km/h @ 7:28am - Nil Oct 28th - 15.1ºC/22.8ºC - S 48km/h @ 9:21am - 1.4mm Oct 29th - 13.6ºC/22.0ºC - SSW 30km/h @ 11:26am - Nil Oct 30th - 13.5ºC/23.4ºC - E 28km/h @ 11:34am - Nil Oct 31st - 12.2ºC/25.2ºC - NE 39km/h @ 3:27pm - Nil Nov 1st - 14.0ºC/26.8ºC - NNE 54km/h @ 11:14am - Nil Nov 2nd - 18.4ºC/23.8ºC - SSW 59km/h @ 1:29am - Nil Nov 3rd - 11.9ºC/22.9ºC - ESE 33km/h @ 2:19pm - 1.4mm Nov 4th - 16.1ºC/23.7ºC - NE 41km/h @ 12:33pm - Nil Nov 5th - 16.1ºC/26.7ºC - NNE 52km/h @ 1:56pm - Nil Nov 6th - 17.8ºC/27.1ºC - NNE 54km/h @ 3:38pm - Nil Nov 7th - 22.2ºC/27.1ºC - NNE 65km/h @ 2:00pm - Nil Nov 8th - 20.7ºC/27.1ºC - NNE 65km/h @ 2:00pm - 9.0mm Nov 9th - 20.7ºC/27.0ºC - SW 26km/h @ 12:51pm - 6.8mm Nov 10th - 18.1ºC/20.4ºC - SSW 56km/h @ 11:55am - 34.8mm Nov 11th - 14.4ºC/22.1ºC - SSE 41km/h @ 11:22am - 0.2mm Nov 12th - 9.8ºC/22.8ºC - NE 33km/h @ 1:48pm - Nil Nov 13th - 13.6ºC/26.5ºC - NE 54km/h @ 12:31pm - Nil Nov 14th - 17.9ºC/24.9ºC - SW 41km/h @ 12:15am - 10.0mm Nov 15th - 18.5ºC/25.6ºC - ENE 30km/h @ 11:13am - Nil Nov 16th - 18.8ºC/25.8ºC - S 43km/h @ 3:51pm - 4.4mm Nov 17th - 18.7ºC/22.6ºC - NNE 43km/h @ 10:11pm - 82.0mm In summary, the very dry conditions continued into early November and the area was starting to show signs of drought (we became classed as 'marginal' on the agriculture drought maps). We kept on getting an unusual amount of dry air intrusions from the interior and even when winds tended onshore, moisture depth was often shallow, limiting precipitation prospects with troughs. For a few days from Nov 4th, the winds were persistent from the NE, drawing moisture from the Coral Sea (and into a trough over central Australia, which delivered rain/storms to the interior). The moisture was fairly deep and it became increasingly humid (sticky nights!), usually this kind of thing happens in mid/late Oct, so the patterns were about 3 weeks behind. The trough moved into the area from the 8th, delivering areas of rain and isolated storms over the following days. Another trough moved into the region on the 14th bringing stormy conditions (we had quite a spectacular display of lightning that evening, with plenty of close bolts). The trough persisted around the region over the next few days delivering showers and storms, with some of these storms tending severe, especially around here in Northern NSW and neighbouring Southeastern QLD. We had a severe storm move through here during the night of the 17th which brought very heavy rainfall (including 47mm in 1 hour). Over the past two days, Brisbane City has experienced severe storms. Wind and rain were the main problems on the 17th (big hail was west of Brisbane on the 17th), with large hail being the problem today. These severe reports were mentioned in Brisbane's Severe Storm Warning just as it was hitting the CBD this evening: "Golf to tennis ball size hail at Toowong at 5:55pm. 6cm hail reported near Ipswich at 5:30pm. 9cm hail was reported at near Boonah at 4:45pm. A 90 km/hr wind gust was recorded at Double Island Point at 3:35pm. 6cm hail reported at Biggenden at 2:00pm. 3-4cm hail reported near Beerburrum at 2:40pm. 3cm hail was reported at Caboolture at 2:20pm. 4cm hail was reported at Jandowae at 1:50pm. 2-3cm hail was reported at Yamanto at 1:10pm." There should be some good pics/videos of the storms in Northern NSW and southeast QLD appear on the net / YouTube over the next 24-48 hours. I'll try and find some for you all over the next couple of days. The upcoming week (Nov 18th to Nov 24th): Today (Sunday) was a mild and increasingly sunny day, with showers clearing by morning tea. A S/SW'ly change is due in the morning, and should bring fine and mild weather. Winds are expected to turn more SE'ly on Tuesday, with the risk of a light shower or two developing. On Wednesday, the winds should turn NE'ly and clear away any possible showers. A trough is expected to move into the region on Thursday, and could potentially bring a shower or storm, though there's the chance the trough may move through a little too early. A high near Southern Australia should bring fine weather on Friday and Saturday. ~~~ Btw, here's a YouTube video of Batemans Bay waterspout (on the NSW South Coast): http-~~-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=Za46Rmc5hxI

Summary here for the past week (Date/Min/Max/24hrRainfall): Oct 16th - 15.7ºC/23.8ºC - Nil Oct 17th - 17.2ºC/27.3ºC - Nil Oct 18th - 15.7ºC/26.5ºC - 1.0mm Oct 19th - 17.8ºC/25.0ºC - Nil Oct 20th - 19.4ºC/26.5ºC - Nil Oct 21st - 16.1ºC/25.4ºC - 0.2mm Oct 22nd - 18.4ºC/25.7ºC - 3.4mm Past week: A couple of light passing showers moved through late Thursday night in the weak onshore winds. Despite the odd bit of shallow convection about, the cap was far too strong to be broken on Friday. On Saturday, hot and very dry W/NW'ly torched nearly all the region with temps rising up to the high 30s, and relative humidity falling down to as low as 8%. We were protected by a humid N/NE'ly sea breeze here within a couple of kilometres of the coast, but it is was still warm enough (our exposed coastal location can often see us escape such hot days). Bushfires on the ranges west of here became out of control during Saturday, and a smoky haze moved over in the afternoon with light ash raining down for a period of time. On Sunday a little light rain fell as a band of mid-level cloud came over. After a mild to warm start on Monday, a surge of cold southerly air moved through bringing wintry temperatures and strong winds that afternoon and overnight with some passing showers and there was some thunder/lightning offshore. Pictures of the smoky haze here around mid-afternoon on Saturday: The fire has now burnt about 30,000 hectares (74,131 acres) of land. It is attempting to be controlled by 80 firefighters, five aircraft and four bulldozers. 25-50mm of soaking rain would go down a treat, but that doesn't look like happening in the short-term at least. The upcoming week (Oct 23rd to Oct 29th): After an unseasonably cold night, it was a fine but cool to mild day today (felt cool with the wind). The fine weather should persist through tomorrow and Thursday. Friday will most likely remain fine, despite a trough being near the region. Winds should tend SE'ly later on Friday and light drizzly showers are possible on Saturday. On Sunday, a trough is expected to trigger widespread showers and storms over the inland of NSW and QLD, but it should remain fine on the coast. The trough is currently expected to move nearer to the coast on Monday, and at this stage there could be some rain and a couple of isolated embedded storms about the region.

Summary here for the past week (Date/Min/Max/24hrRainfall): Oct 9th - 13.6ºC/24.6ºC - Nil Oct 10th - 14.0ºC/23.5ºC - 0.6mm Oct 11th - 16.4ºC/19.0ºC - 2.6mm Oct 12th - 11.5ºC/19.0ºC - Nil Oct 13th - 10.9ºC/23.2ºC - Nil Oct 14th - 13.0ºC/22.8ºC - 0.2mm Oct 15th - 13.2ºC/24.8ºC - Nil Past week: The cold front delivered some light rain here as the frontal rainband moved through. It brought a cool change, with noticably cooler temps. Daytime temps quickly returned to seasonable levels, though nights remained cool. A little light rain fell and rolls of thunder were heard on the 14th as localised showers and storms developed as an upper trough moved through the region. Hail up to 4 centimetres in diameter was reported from near Lismore. The upcoming week (Oct 16th to Oct 22nd): A high centred over the far southern Coral Sea / far northern Tasman Sea brought fine conditions today and should do so tomorrow as well. A southeasterly change will arrive during early tomorrow afternoon. A surface trough will linger over southern QLD and northern NSW on Thursday. Storms are not expected here on Thursday with the main area of instability to the north. A drizzly shower is possible Thursday evening in the light SE'ly winds though. The trough is expected to weaken on Friday, and dissipate that night. There is the slight chance of a shower/storm Friday afternoon, although breaking the cap is expected to be a problem. Warm, dry air is expected to be pushed ahead of an approaching surface trough on Saturday. The trough should move through during Saturday afternoon, bringing a cooler S/SE'ly change. Despite the expected dry air ahead of the trough, there is the slight chance of an afternoon shower at this stage, as the change may potentially provide a trigger for struggling convection. Sunday should be cooler as the trough will be to the north over southern QLD and the far northeast corner of NSW, just the risk of a shower occurring here anytime between that afternoon and early Monday morning. A high should approach the region during Monday bringing fine conditions. By a fairly small margin, spring is the driest season of the year here on average, but it's been extremely dry so far this spring. We're now halfway through spring and we've only had 5.6mm so far. The average for Spring is 265.0mm, and the driest spring on record was in 1991 when we received just 66.4mm over the spring. Either that record is going to be smashed or I should expect some rain in the next 6 weeks, lol! It's been probably the most quiet start to the storm season I can remember, thanks to the unusual persistence of dry air along the coast. Although maybe our fortunes could turn around, if the Bureau are to be believed:

Poor Tassie hasn't had much luck this year. One more video. A set of clips from Blackheath: http-~~-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpP23rtAwWY Temperatures in that area are expected to hit 25ºC by Tuesday (reaching 32ºC on the adjacent lowlands at Penrith in western Sydney on Tues) As expected, the effects of the cold snap were more benign on the north coast. We had two 19ºC days, which is a bit over four degrees below average for October. Last night was a noticably cooler 10.9ºC. We didn't get much rain from the frontal rainband (most of that fell on the ranges to the west), and the East Coast Low was too far south to bring rain here. Yesterday, we had a bit of 'foehn' wind on the north coast with snow/sleet falling on the adjacent ranges but very dry and comparitively mild air (relative humidity fell down to almost 20%) on the coast.

I was on the Southern Highlands two weeks ago for a wedding, had that wedding been held two weeks later I would've woken up to snow outside our accommodation that morning! An impressive sight at Blackheath (about 1100m ASL) in the Blue Mountains behind Sydney (Photo from blackheathweather.com): A picture from the mountain ranges to the west of here, on the Northern Tablelands between Guyra and Ben Lomond (150kms NW of here, about 1350m ASL) (Photo from australiansevereweather.com): More Northern Tablelands photos in this public Facebook album: https://www.facebook...84443250&type=1 When I was living in Armidale for a couple of years and attending the University of New England as an internal (on-campus) student, I use to go to Guyra for little snowchases (it's about 300m higher than Armidale, so was more reliable for snow). From the Northern Daily Leader (with some photos, if you follow the link):

For those that like videos, here's a summary from Ten News of the South Australian snowfalls: http-~~-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aDkhWclPV8 The cold pool that affected South Australia bringing the above snowfalls and which is moving eastward through NSW is currently centred around the Cobar/Bourke area. It is expected to produce snowfall down to 900m early tomorrow morning on the mountains the west of here.

Indeed Styx! The article link I posted above has been progressively updated through the day, and it has now been called a 'once-in-century October snow' event for South Australia. From the opening part of the updated article: " Rare at any time, there has been October snow across some southern areas of South Australia. The weather bureau in Adelaide said the last reports of snowfall in the Adelaide and neighbouring Mount Lofty Ranges region in October were a century ago. " The cold pool of air is now in western NSW. Broken Hill, White Cliffs and Wilcannia have had maximums of 10-11 degrees today. While it's not quite a record low max for these locations, it is very unusual, they usually average max temps around 28 degrees during October. At 1:30pm, it fell to 5.6ºC at White Cliffs during a light shower (falling from a 10.6ºC max at 9:56am). It is in stark contrast to last week when on Friday, Broken Hill had a maximum of 34.8ºC and Wilcannia 37.9ºC, and on Saturday at White Cliffs where it got to 37.4ºC.

~~~~~Tom Daley is currently in Adelaide with the Junior Worlds Diving Competition. I'm sure it's currently reminding him of England, lol.

Styx has pretty much covered it all. The Clarke Range about an hour's drive west of Mackay is the furtherest north that snow has been reported, which pretty much sits at 21ºS (quite remarkable, as it sits north of the Tropic of Capricorn). Mackay has a tropical climate, though it is pretty much on the most southern extent of the area considered to have a tropical climate. Go around 50-75kms further south and the climate changes rather abruptly to subtropical. I have been to the village of Eungella which is nestled in the Clarke Range (due to it's elevation, it has a subtropical climate), and it is a nice little area. Saw my first wild platypus there too. I believe the furtherest north sub-zero minimum temp recorded is at Mount Elizabeth (546m) in the Kimberley Region of Western Australia. Mount Elizabeth is around 16º25'S. Several locations on the elevated Atherton Tablelands (centred around 17º15'S) to the west of Cairns/Innisfail have recorded sub-zero minimums (I have been to the Atherton Tablelands as well). In Victoria, a reasonable number of locations have received snow to sea level but it is a very rare occurrence (though occurred as recently as 2005, see: http://www.bom.gov.a.../20050810.shtml). There are reports of snow falling and settling in Sydney back around 1830s (think it was the 1830s), but it is treated with a fair amount of scepticism. Most likely an accumulation of small, soft hail. Showers and/or localised t'storms bringing accumulations of small hail in the wintry months are not uncommon along the NSW coast from around Sydney and southwards, and have been known to be mistaken by everyday folk as being 'snow'. As far as I know, no location at/near sea level (<100m ASL) in Australia has recorded a sub-zero maximum (largely thanks to the moderating influence of the Southern Ocean). Unless you include Macquarie Island (54º30'S), firmly settled in the Furious Fifties and in the 'subantarctic'. (Macquarie Island climate for those interested: http://www.bom.gov.a...e/climate.shtml)

I've been spending most of the day thinking it's Monday for some reason. Then realised this evening it was Tuesday, and remembered to pop on here before it ticks over to Wednesday! Summary here for the past week (Date/Min/Max/24hrRainfall): Oct 2nd - 12.0ºC/22.0ºC - Nil Oct 3rd - 13.5ºC/24.1ºC - Nil Oct 4th - 14.5ºC/26.0ºC - Nil Oct 5th - 19.2ºC/32.2ºC - Nil Oct 6th - 17.2ºC/25.2ºC - Nil Oct 7th - 18.2ºC/22.0ºC - Nil Oct 8th - 12.6ºC/23.0ºC - Nil Past week: An area of high pressure kept the region dry for most of this week. The high helped to push hot NW'lies from the interior along an approaching low pressure trough on the 5th, resulting in a hot and very dry day. The trough dissipated over far northern NSW on the morning of the 6th. Another low pressure trough over southern NSW developed into a cold front during the 6th, moving through here early in the morning on the 7th. An embedded low in the trough/frontal system, deepened dramatically as it moved off the NSW South Coast. Fine but windy weather persisted through the 7th. A weak trough developed over eastern NSW on the 8th, and combined with moderate E/SE'ly winds to produce several showers and thunderstorms about the region (remained dry here, most activity was offshore). The upcoming week (Oct 9th to Oct 15th): Today was a fine, partly cloudy though breezy day. A strong cold front will move into the southeast of Australia tomorrow. It is expected to bring unseasonably cold weather to most places across the southeast quarter of the continent. At present, snow is expected to fall on the highlands in NSW, Victoria and Tasmania. Possible sleet is forecast for the Granite Belt in far southern Queensland (about 28º30'S). In the west of the local region here, snow is expected to fall down to 1100m ASL on Friday. A low pressure trough will approach the region tomorrow with a weak embedded low. There is the slight chance of an evening shower or storm tomorrow. Rain is expected to develop here early Thursday morning, and then clear that evening as the low pressure trough moves out to sea. The low pressure system will deepen off the NSW central coast later on Thursday. Friday should be a fine and rather windy day (the showers whipped up by the low are predicted to stay just to the south and west of here). The winds should ease later on Friday and through Saturday as the low flies off to NZ. Saturday should be a fine day too. A high will move into the southern Tasman on Sunday, and direct E/SE'ly winds onto the coast into Monday morning. In all likelihood it will remain fine, but there is the slight chance of a shower late Sunday / early Monday. It should finish as a generally mild week overall (we are expected to be sheltered from most of the cool to cold weather along the coastal fringe of the north coast).

Have got a pedestal fan, ceiling fans, and air conditioning. Only use the air conditioning on the hottest/muggiest of days because it would be expensive to run day after day in the summery months. Usually use the ceiling fans, as they are both cheap and effective. In about 4 weeks, I will probably be sleeping with the ceiling fan on most nights, lol.Daylight saving starts at 2am tomorrow morning in NSW, and we put our clocks forward one hour to 3am. Sunrise this morning was at 5:18am (First light at about 4:50am ), and sunset this evening will be at 5:52pm. But tomorrow, things will be much better, sunrise will be at 6:17am, and sunset will be at 6:53pm.

Had our first 30+ day here since February 29th, reaching a top of 32ºC today according to the 3pm temp summary (the exact, non-rounded figure should appear tomorrow morning after 9am). It was already 26ºC here at 9am. The record October high of 39.2ºC was well and truly safe, but it was our hottest October day since 2005 (although if the final figure comes in as 32.4ºC, it would be our hottest October day since 1988 when the October record of 39.2ºC was set). Very dry air as well, with relative humidity dropping down as low as 13% at the local weather stations in the region. Usually the relative humidity here in October is around 60-70%. The NE'ly seabreeze has come in this afternoon, and "cooled" temps to around 27-28 degrees on the coastal fringe. The slow-moving southerly change is due here around 4am tomorrow morning (should get to Newcastle shortly). So, I look forward to an uncomfortable night's sleep... Had the fan on all last night, as it only dropped to 19.2ºC overnight.

Summary here for the past week (Date/Min/Max/24hrRainfall): Sep 25th - 13.0ºC/23.5ºC - Nil Sep 26th - 14.5ºC/24.5ºC - Nil Sep 27th - 15.9ºC/24.2ºC - Nil Sep 28th - 17.0ºC/25.1ºC - Nil Sep 29th - 18.1ºC/25.0ºC - Nil Sep 30th - 12.3ºC/21.8ºC - Nil Oct 1st - 11.8ºC/21.6ºC - Nil Past week: A dry, mostly warm week. The cold front that came through later on the 29th did not bring any rain to here on the leeward side of the Great Dividing Range, but it did bring rain further south in the state and west of the ranges, which is not unusual for these kind of systems. Some light showers threatened on the 1st, but stayed offshore. The weather for the wedding ceremony down on the Southern Highlands near Moss Vale / Bowral on the 28th (between Sydney and Canberra) was mostly cloudy but very warm (for 650m ASL in Sept), with a maximum of 26.5ºC. The cold front came through there mid afternoon on the 28th once we were inside at the reception, it cooled things down into the mid teens with rain developing later in the afternoon. It was a difficult drive back to Goulburn that night. Moderate to heavy rain, very strong wind gusting up to 80-90km/h at times, and holiday traffic. The speed limit on the freeway was 110km/h, but I spent most of the time doing between 70-90km/h. I could hear the rain and wind buffeting the motel's windows that night. It was quite cold and very windy the next morning in Goulburn, with a temp of around 9ºC with winds gusting to about 70km/h during mid-morning. Not the conditions a person from the subtropics is use to, lol. The upcoming week (Oct 2nd to Oct 8th): Today was a fine, mild and sunny day. An area of high pressure overhead and nearby in the early half of the week, then a ridge of high pressure later in the week should bring a continuation of fine, dry, and generally warm weather this week. A low is expected to deepen off the NSW central/south coast during Saturday night, but it is not expected to bring rain here. I guess there is a slight chance of a shower later in the week, as there is some level of uncertainty about what conditions the low will bring as it moves away from the coast. ~~~~~ The continuing very dry weather is starting to make its presence felt, with rural communities in the neighbouring Hastings Valley that rely on tank water needing to buy water (http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-10-01/water-demand-skyrocketing-after-dry-winter/4288976?&section=news). Good near-surface soil moisture should be protecting farmers from the recent dry weather, but if this unusually dry weather continues into December/January, it could really start to bite.

This September was the third driest September on record here. Only Sep 1941 and Sep 2003 were drier, when we received no rain at all. The subtropical ridge was dominant for the first half of the month bringing more dry weather. A 31-day dry spell came to an end on the 13th. A few troughs formed about the state in the second half of the month, but moisture has continued to be fairly absent over a decent swathe of the country. Both the days and nights were warmer than average during September. We only had one maximum below 20ºC during the month (which occurred on Sep 1st). Rainfall at South West Rocks during September 2012: 13th - 0.6mm 20th - 0.2mm 24th - 1.4mm Below average rainfall was recorded during September, with 2.2mm falling. This is 54.4mm below the September average (Sep Avg. 56.6mm), or 3.89% of the average. There were 3 rain days during September. (Sep Avg. 8.4 raindays) Two thunderstorms passed over South West Rocks during September: 1 x 13/9 ("dry", high-based t'storm, less than 0.2mm fell during the storm) 1 x 24/9 (very lightning active, high-based storm) Jan to Sep rainfall total is 1181.4mm, which is 22.1mm above average (Jan-Sep Avg. 1159.3mm). Summary of September 2012 temperatures (LTA = Long-term Average): Sep 2012 Avg. Max: 23.1ºC (LTA: 21.8ºC) Sep 2012 Avg. Min: 13.9ºC (LTA: 13.4ºC) Highest max: 28.0ºC (Sep 7th) Lowest max: 18.8ºC (Sep 1st) Highest min: 18.1ºC (Sep 29th) Lowest min: 7.5ºC (Sep 1st)