It wasn’t just cold – it was record-making cold.
Winter in Melbourne got off to a freezing start on Monday, equalling Tullamarine’s coldest morning since 1971 and almost beating the city’s coldest start since 1977.
Bureau of Meteorology duty forecaster Stuart Coombs said Melbourne Airport recorded a maximum of 11.1 degrees for the day, equalling the lowest temperature for June 1 since records began in 1971.
In the city, the mercury dropped to 12.2, almost as cold as the 12 degrees recorded on June 1 in 1977.
Melbourne’s low was recorded at 5.30am on Monday, when temperatures plummeted to 5.6 degrees.
It felt much colder, however, with an apparent reading of 2.8 degrees.
Intermittent showers kept the city cold throughout the day.
The cold blast was good news in the alps, where all ski fields received good falls.
Falls Creek received 20 centimetres of snow overnight, while Mount Buller recorded eight centimetres.
Mr Coombs said those falls would be backed up by a light flurry or two on the southern slopes on Tuesday. Another cold front on Thursday could produce more snow.
Cold weather would create good snow-making conditions for the rest of the week, meaning plenty of the white stuff for the start of ski season.
Melbourne is in for a grey and drizzly week, with tops of 13 forecast until Thursday. Temperatures will pick up again on the weekend, reaching a predicted peak of 18 on Sunday.
This story first appeared in The Age
