31/05/2008: Brisbane residents have just experienced the coldest May in at least eight years, according to weatherzone.com.au.

The city had an average maximum of 24 degrees, right on the long-term normal. However, there was one cold spell right at the end of the month. On the 29th, Brisbane reached just 19 degrees, making it the coldest May day in four years.

The nights were chilly. Brisbane’s average minimum of 12 degrees was slightly below the long-term normal of 13. This made it the coldest May in terms of overnight temperatures since 2004. In fact, on the morning of the 20th, the mercury plunged to just nine degrees, the coldest May night in two years.

When both daytime and overnight temperatures were combined, Brisbane’s average temperature came in at 18 degrees, slightly below the long-term normal of 19. This made it the coldest May since records began at the current site in 2000.

"Although there have been Mays with colder days and also Mays with colder nights in recent years, this year came out as being the coldest overall. This was mainly due to a spell of colder weather through the second half of the month, culminating in a couple of gloomy, wet days this week," weatherzone.com.au meteorologist Matt Pearce said.

With the exception of some western districts where daytime temperatures were up on normal, it was the same story of generally colder weather right across Queensland. In fact, Kowanyama, in the Gulf Country, had an average minimum of 16 degrees, its lowest for May in 36 years of records.

Apart from a few days of very heavy rain in the state’s southeast in the last week of the month, it was also a dry May right across Queensland. Brisbane picked up 52mm, slightly above the long-term normal of 44mm. This made it the wettest May since 2005.

In contrast, parts of the Central Coast experienced their driest May on record. For example, Proserpine received just six millimetres throughout the month, its lowest May rainfall total in 25 years of records.

"Sea surface temperatures in the Coral Sea were well down on normal through May. This tends to have a flow-on effect of reducing humidity levels, and therefore rainfall, across Queensland. If not for a spell of moist onshore winds along the southern half of the coast this week, it would have been a bone dry month for almost the whole state," Pearce said.

"We are expecting rainfall to remain fairly close to average across Queensland over the next few months. However, the north coast and also the Maranoa may come in slightly drier than normal."

Media Inquiries:

Matt Pearce
media@weatherzone.com.au
02 9965 9236

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