IT WILL be a frosty transition into winter across a large swathe of NSW this year.
A strong high pressure system moving over the nation’s south-east is allowing mostly clear skies and light winds to combine with a cold air mass over NSW this week.
This setup is leading to a run of cold and frosty nights, with severe frosts likely to affect some areas on multiple occasions.
The final morning of autumn was feeling unquestionably winter-like across the state, as frost covered many areas on the slopes and ranges.
Glen Innes reached -5.7 degrees early on Wednesday for the first time since last winter, beaten only by Perisher (-7.7C), Thredbo (-7.6C) and Mount Ginini (-5.9C). It was also the coldest May morning in 11 years at Broken Hill (0.7C) and five years at both Ivanhoe (1.6C) and White Cliffs (4.4C).
Canberra’s -0.7 yesterday and Tuesday’s minimum of -4.5 made it the coldest final two mornings of autumn in 12 years for the nation’s capital.
Frost was prolific on and west of the Great Dividing Range once again this morning and will remain a feature in many areas during the first week of winter.
As the centre of the stubborn high pressure system remains over western Victoria during the next few days, it will maintain a stream of cold air from the Southern Ocean across NSW.
While days will be pleasantly mild, temperatures are tipped to reach zero degrees or lower from now until early next week in some areas, particularly on the central and southern slopes and ranges.
Minimums will climb during the middle of next week as an area of low pressure moves over the state. This will be the first rain-bearing system for winter and it could include snow for some higher mountain areas.
The outlook for winter according to the Bureau of Meteorology is for above average daytime temperatures and below-average rainfall for most inland areas of NSW.
There is roughly an equal chance of warmer or cooler than usual nights west of the ranges, while warm nights are favoured in the east.
