Oakey and Kingaroy shiver below zero as wintry winds blow in
Two south-east Queensland towns recorded below-zero temperatures overnight as gusty, southern cold air blew into Queensland on Saturday.
Oakey, west of Toowoomba, and Kingaroy, north-west of Brisbane, were the coldest places in the state early on a windy Saturday morning.
A cold front has reduced temperatures to below zero in some areas of regional Queensland and brought gusty winds to coastal waters.Credit:Sam Mooy
Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Peter Markworth said the two towns were colder than Applethorpe in the Granite Belt, which was kept warmer by the winds.
"Two locations got to below zero this morning," Mr Markworth said.
"Oakey was the coldest and got down to 0.4 degrees centigrade, and Kingaroy got to 0.1, just a touch below zero.
"Applethorpe got to 4.2 degrees centigrade, but it is quite breezy up through there and that would have played a role."
No reading from Stanthorpe's manually read temperature gauge was available early on Saturday.
The gusty 15- to 20-knot winds over much of Queensland were affecting temperatures, Mr Markworth said.
"A good example is up near Townsville. A lot of the surrounding areas got down to the low teens – like 11 degrees – but Townsville itself was quite isolated [from the winds] and the temperature was 19.6 degrees," he said.
Mr Markworth said the chilly weather was an early taste of a typical winter day in July.
"But while we are moving into cooler temperatures in the longer term, in the short term, we will see temperatures begin to warm back to average – in the mid-20s – quite gradually," he said.
"We should get back to average conditions by the middle of next week."
People using Moreton Bay and the waterways around the coast should be wary of the strong gusty winds over the weekend, he said. Those strong winds will return early next week as well.
"We do have quite a bit of wind over the coastal waters – 15 to 20km/h – and into next week, they are going to pick up again," he said.
Winds could be slightly stronger on Sunday in south-east Queensland, gusting up to 35km/h, but easing in the afternoon.
"It is pretty breezy and gusty over the water already, but it is really an issue for early next week," Mr Markworth said.
"Just south of the border in New South Wales does have some strong wind warnings.
"So it can be quite rough in Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast waters."
Overall, clear, bright days are expected until Tuesday, when a chance of rain emerges.
The maximum temperature in Brisbane is tipped to be 24 degrees on Saturday and Sunday, down to 10 degrees on both nights.
By Wednesday there is a 50 per cent chance of slight rain in south-east Queensland, which could continue until Friday.