If you found yourself dusting off your jumpers this week, you probably weren’t alone.
That’s because Melbourne had its coolest end to January in 15 years, the Bureau of Meteorology says.
And prospects of hitting the beach are not expected to improve, with top temperatures in the low 20s predicted through to next Friday.
Senior weather bureau climatologist Kevin Smith said the average maximum temperature at Melbourne Airport for the five days to Friday had been 22.6 degrees.
He said the normal average for the same period was 26.9 degrees.
“Around Melbourne, we’re talking between minus 2 and minus 4 degrees below average,” Mr Smith said.
“The previous cooler week for Melbourne would be the year 2000.”
Mr Smith said the average maximum temperature in Moorabbin, which reflected conditions in the metropolitan area, had been 22.1 degrees, down from a normal average of 26.2.
He said the cool stretch was remarkable, especially considering temperatures had actually been about 1 degree higher than average across Melbourne in January.
“What’s unusual is having a stretch of four or five days of these colder maximum temperatures,” Mr Smith said.
“Normally we would get a few but it’s unusual to get so many in a row in January.
“It’s interesting that we acclimatise to these above-average temperatures and then when it drops back a little bit we all feel the cold much easier.”
The weather bureau predicts maximum temperatures of 20 to 23 and lows between 13 and 15 until next Friday.
A top of 20 degrees is predicted for Melbourne on Friday, with 21 degrees expected on Saturday and Sunday.
This story first appeared in The Age
