Darwin residents may have thought winter arrived early after their coldest day since June and chilliest night since September. A mass of cloud covered the Top End on Tuesday, shielding the region from the sun. Without abundant solar heating that Darwin in accustomed to at this time of year, the temperature failed to reach 25 degrees all day. At seven degrees below average, this is is equal coldest day in five years and coldest May day in 31 years. The cool day was followed by the coldest night since early spring, as a ridge of high pressure cleared the skies over Darwin during the night. Cloudless skies allowed heat to radiate away from the surface, causing the city to reach a low of 17 degrees shortly before sunrise, five below the monthly average. It may have felt like winter came a couple of days early in the northern capital, given that the average minimum and maximum temperatures for July, in the middle of winter, are 19 and 30 degrees respectively degrees. Darwin can expect to gradually warm up during the remainder of the week as the cloud mass moves into Queensland. Warmer easterly winds and abundant sunshine should see temperatures climb back above 30 degrees on Thursday and overnight temperatures should stay above 21 on both Thursday and Friday nights.