Even before summer officially ended, News.com.au reported that a strong cold front altered Australia’s weather.
“Meteorologists have warned a weather change could come with ‘quite a punch’ on Wednesday [March 18] as a possible southerly buster system rolls through New South Wales and temperatures plummet in Victoria,” said News.com.au. “The mercury in Melbourne peaked at 28.5℃ on Tuesday at 12.30pm, Avalon airport got to 30.4℃ while Yarrawonga, on the Murray, peaked at almost 35℃.
“But on Wednesday the city will struggle to get to just 18℃ now that front has passed through dragging down temperatures with it,” the report continued.
That is more than six degrees Celsius below the normal average daily high for March.
Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) reported that the low for Wednesday was three degrees Celsius below the normal low for March. March 21st high and low temperatures are expected to dip even farther below average for the time of year.
“It’s much, much colder. We’re dropping a good 10 or 12 degrees off of Wednesday’s maximum temperatures,” the BOM’s Angus Hines said. “This is a sure sign that we’re moving away from summer and deeper into autumn over the next few days.”
Farther south, in Hobart, temperatures went even lower, with the BOM reporting that snow fell on Tasmania’s mountain peaks in the Cradle Valley.