Tuesday morning's icy temperatures, the coldest minimums ever recorded this early in autumn in southern and central Queensland, have been the latest in a string of cold minimums in Australia, according to a retired CSIRO weather officer.
Peter Nelson worked at the CSIRO Division of Atmospheric Physics in Melbourne from 1959 to 1993, and has made long range weather forecasts a private hobby since 1968.
Oakey reached a minumum of -5.7C, not only the coldest May temperature ever recorded by the Darling Downs town but the coldest minimum the entire state has ever recorded in early May.
The state record for the late autumn month is -6.9C on May 31, 2019 in Stanthorpe.
Oakey's May 9 temperature was 13.5C below average, but other places also recorded their coldest May morning on record, such as the Sunshine Coast, which was 3.3C, 11 degrees below average.
Dalby's temperature was -3.2C, 12C below average; Warwick's temperature was -3.6C, 11C below average; and in Applethorpe it was -4.1C, 10C below average.
According to Mr Nelson, Perth recorded one of its coldest Aprils in 146 years of records.
The mean maximum temperature of 23.7C was nearly three degrees below normal and the coldest since 1980, while the mean minimum temperature of 12.1C was the coldest since 11.7C in April of 1960.
The coldest temperatures before that were in 1954 and 1914.
Melbourne also recorded its coldest first weekend of May since 1960, with daily maximum temperature readings of 13.6C and 13.4C on May 6-7.
Looking further into the winter of 1960, Mr Nelson said May of that year was much colder, not just in Victoria and NSW but well into inland Queensland, where Roma recorded one of its two coldest May days on record, the other being in 1926.
"As most places face the coldest May for 63 years, there was brief relief near the end of May 1960 with maximum temperatures reaching 24C at Coonabarabran, 26C at Moree and 27C at Roma," Mr Nelson said.
Returning to 2023, Mr Nelson said temperatures in Roma and Blackall matched each other on Tuesday morning, at 1.1C at each location.
"This is the lowest temperature easily on record (for Blackall) for early May," he said.
You have to go to the last week of May in 1957, 1993, 2001, 2006, 2011 and 2019 to find a lower May reading, near 0.5C.
In Charleville on Tuesday morning it was 0.9C, the coldest so early in May since 0.8C in 1952.
Longreach, with 3C, had its coldest morning for early May since 1999.
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Sally Gall
Based at Blackall, CW Qld, where I've raised a family, run Merino sheep and beef cattle, and helped develop a region - its history, tourism, education and communications. Get in touch at 0427 575 955 if you've got a story idea for me.
Based at Blackall, CW Qld, where I've raised a family, run Merino sheep and beef cattle, and helped develop a region - its history, tourism, education and communications. Get in touch at 0427 575 955 if you've got a story idea for me.
