It was hard to get up on Sunday in the southeast of the Sunshine State as the mercury plummeted to the coldest morning so far this year for many locations.

Brisbane woke up with the mercury dipping down just below 8 degrees, the coldest morning since July last year. On top of that, southwesterly winds made it feel three degrees colder. Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast reached 7 and 3 degrees, respectively.  

Further inland, away from the ocean's moderating effect, the morning started even colder. Amberley froze as temperatures dropped to -2 degrees, seven degrees below the long-term average. 

Image: Observed temperatures at 6am on Sunday

A firm high pressure system centred over South Australia, which extends a ridge along the Queensland coast, is pushing a cold airmass with dry air from the south, leading to wintry conditions this far north. 

Temperatures will climb into the low twenties in the afternoon during the coming days, including today, thanks to mostly clear skies. However, the daytime warmth does not hang around for long this time of the year, as daylight hours are still very short. Overnight temperatures will gradually warm up but mornings will remain chilly.