After a cold and wet Easter weekend, much of southeastern Australia will continue to shiver in unseasonal conditions in the coming days.
Temperatures in Tasmania, Victoria, New South Wales, and South Australia were five to 10 degrees Celsius lower than average for this time of year over the weekend, according to Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Dean Narramore.
Narramore attributed this to a strong cold front passing through on Good Friday, which brought severe thunderstorms to parts of Queensland, New South Wales, and eastern Victoria.
Cold snap sweeping the east coast of Australia
(Photo : AMOS GUMULIRA/AFP via Getty Images)
Snow fell down to 700 meters in parts of Tasmania over the weekend, while Hobart struggled to reach 13 degrees Celsius yesterday, its coldest Easter Sunday in 17 years, as per ABC.
The maximum temperature in Melbourne on Easter Sunday was 15.5 degrees Celsius, the lowest since 2020.
Early snow fell on Victorian ski fields, including Falls Creek, Mount Hotham, Mount Baw Baw, and Mount Buller, while 40 millimeters of rain fell on some Melbourne suburbs yesterday.
Over the weekend, a tropical low in the Timor Sea moved west-southwest into waters north of Kimberley, Western Australia.
The low developed into a tropical cyclone on Sunday night, bringing gale-force winds of up to 56 mph (90 km/h) to the coast.
Squally thunderstorms in the region's north produced strong winds and heavy rain.
The tropical cyclone is expected to strengthen to category 3 by Tuesday.
The storm is expected to turn south beginning Wednesday, prompting the Australian Bureau of Meteorology to issue a warning that there is a significant risk of further instability, which could steer the storm south-east into central or eastern Pilbara or western Kimberley.
Given the expected sea surface temperatures of 30C to 32C (86-90F), the cyclone is expected to intensify to category 4, with some models predicting a central pressure as low as 910hPa.
If this happens, the cyclone is expected to make landfall on Wednesday night, bringing 100 mph winds to the coast before tracking southeast across the country.
Heavy rain is expected as the storm moves across much of Western Australia, with 20 to 30mm of rain possible.
On Friday, the cyclone is expected to bring strong winds and heavy rain to South Australia before dissipating overnight.
Ice storms incoming to Canada
Meanwhile in another part of the world, a severe ice storm hit the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario last Wednesday.
At the height of the outage, three people were killed and nearly one million people were without power, as per The Guardian.
Ice storms are severe freezing-rain events that occur when raindrops come into contact with frozen surfaces.
The US National Weather Service declared an ice storm when freezing rain results in ice accumulations greater than 0.25in.
Such events create hazardous driving conditions and add significant weight to power lines, trees, and structures.
Power line damage and falling branches are common, with the latter killing two people.
The majority of households had their power restored, but more than 100,000 were still without power in Quebec at 10 a.m. local time on Sunday.
Related article: Australia Weather Forecast: Tropical Cyclone on Western Part Likely to Strengthen
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