Mackay, Isaac chills to single-digit temperatures
IF YOU were reaching for the blankets this morning, you weren't alone with temperatures dropping below the August averages to single digits.
A combination of dry air and cool south-westerly winds are turning down the thermostat over the Mackay and Isaac regions.
Bureau of Meteorology meteorologist Peter Markworth said Mackay airport recorded a brisk 6.5C this morning with the apparent or feels like temperature only 5C.
Closer to the coast, temperatures dropped to 10.3C at 6.30am but the apparent temperature was just 7.1C.
The average minimum temperature for August on the Mackay coast is a much warmer 14.1C.
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At Moranbah, the temperature dropped to 4C at 6am but the coldest apparent temperature was a chilly 0.8C at 5.30am.
But further inland, Mr Markworth said Clermont recorded just 1.7C.
He said it was Clermont's coldest August temperature so far, but still slightly warmer than July's lowest recording of -1.5C.
Mr Markworth said the region's cold snap was feeling particularly frosty because of the dry cool south-westerly winds pushed from inland out to the coast.
"Most of Queensland is seeing below average temperatures, particularly inland," Mr Markworth said.
"The further you go south, the cooler it is.
"A few locations down south are getting to sub-zero."
He added the cool apparent temperatures were a result of the wind speed.
"More winds create more wind chill especially in dry air," he said.
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The cool mornings look to be sticking around until Thursday when the minimum temperatures start to pick back up.
But unfortunately for those looking forward to the warmth of spring, Mr Markworth said this week's cold snap may not be the last.
"We tend to see this cool air come in stages," he said.
What was the temperature like at your place? Email us at news@dailymercury.com.au
