Prosper in a dynamic world
Search

Prolonged cold outbreak for southeastern Australia

A frigid airmass originating from Antarctica is on its way to Australia on Friday, with the southeastern states expected to shiver through a prolonged cold spell. 

This airmass will arrive behind a cold front over the weekend and will linger over southeastern Aus well into next week. 

The satellite image below shows the cold front approaching SA on Friday afternoon. Behind this cold front you can also see a broad area of speckled cloud. This is a tell-tale sign that a large mass of cold polar air has broken away from the Antarctic region and is venturing into the relatively warm mid-latitudes.

 Image: Himawari-9 satellite image at 11:40am AEST on Friday, July 26.  

A high pressure system will move in quickly in the front’s wake and will stubbornly remain over southern Australia until the middle of next week. This set up will direct chilly southerly winds over southeastern Australia for at least four days. 

The images below show the cold airmass impacting parts of southeastern Australia on Sunday and lingering into Tuesday next week. 

 

Image: 850 hPa temperature and wind forecast at 4pm on Sunday, July 28 (top) and 10am on Tuesday, July 30 (bottom) according to ECMWF 

Daytime temperatures across the capital cities in the southeastern states will be around 2 to 3 °C below average for several days. 

  • Melbourne’s temperatures remain between 12 to 13 °C between this Saturday and Thursday next week, which is around 1 to 2 °C below average. 
  • Adelaide’s maximum will be 2 to 3 °C below average this weekend before warming up slightly next week. 
  • Hobart will see temperatures peak at around 10 to 12 °C for a four-day long stretch. 
  • Sydney’s temperatures will remain at least 1 to 2 °C below average from Sunday through to at least Thursday next week. 
  • Brisbane will also see a run of at least four days at nearly 2 °C below average from Monday next week.  
  • Brisbane’s overnight temperatures from Sunday night will be around 8 °C through to at least Thursday next week. 

These temperatures will also feel much colder than actual with strong southerly winds increasing the wind chill. This is particularly true off the east coast of NSW, Vic and Tas from late Saturday as a low pressure system develops in the Tasman Sea and moves east towards New Zealand. 

Weatherzone Business has grown to become the outright leader within the Australian energy market, serving wind, solar, hydro, trading, utilities and network companies.

You can’t control the weather, but you can gain precision insights to optimise your response. What lights us up is providing your energy business with tailored weather information to reduce your risk and keep you moving ahead of the curve. 

Our services cover all aspects – from wind and solar generation to demand forecasts, wholesale markets to retail so, no matter where your company sits, we have solutions for you. We have worked closely with market participants to create products that meet the evolving needs of the sector, aiming to increase safety and profitability for our customers. 

Benefit from the timely delivery of accurate weather information, allowing informed and effective decision-making. To find out more, please visit our contact page or email us at apac.sales@dtn.com. 

 

 

Latest news

Satisfy your weather obsession with these news headlines from around the nation, and the world.

A warm, light wind spring ahead for the NEM

A strong El Niño and an unusually stable Antarctic polar vortex are setting up a spring signal of light winds, elevated solar output, and a real risk of high-intensity heatwaves for the NEM.   This forecast could be a major flip to what the National Electricity Market (NEM) has experienced so far during Winter 2026. On 1 July 2026, the NEM […]

Habagat and successive typhoons trigger widespread flooding in the Philippines

Three consecutive weeks of enhanced southwest monsoon (Habagat) and back-to-back typhoons have flooded Luzon and the Visayas, grounding flights, triggering distribution power outages, cutting off transport corridors, and raising landslide risk across mining-dense provinces like Benguet and the Cordillera. The disruption is far from over with PAGASA expecting the monsoon to remain in place until […]

Australia’s Spring 2026 Bushfire Outlook: Increased Risk Across Seven States and Territories

Fire agencies, land managers and businesses are being urged to prepare as the AFAC spring seasonal bushfire outlook, released on August 19, 2026, warns of elevated bushfire risk across Australia this season. The outlook identifies above-average fire danger across seven states and territories, with conditions driven by a combination of elevated fuel loads, an El Niño […]

Businesses under pressure: how this powerful high will affect Australian industries

A very strong high pressure system centred over Tasmania will impact southern and eastern Australia’s weather over the coming days. How strong is this high pressure system? Mean Sea Level Pressure (MSLP) has already reached 1039.3 hPa at Ouse, Tasmania on Sunday morning, and is forecast to peak at 1041 or 1042 hPa on Monday […]