severe Storms Threatenโข East Coast asโ Australia experiences Stark Temperature Divide
SYDNEY – A broad area โคstretching from north โคQueensland to New South Wales faces a risk of severe thunderstormsโ this โคSaturday, โwith potential warnings for damaging winds, large hail, and heavy rainfall. Meanwhile,โข a dramatic temperature contrastโ is unfolding acrossโ the country, with โthe east coast experiencing record-breakingโ warmth โwhileโฃ southern regions brace for snow on the frist day โขof summer.
According to the ABC News, the primary threatโ from Saturday’s storms will be heavy, slow-moving rainfall in the tropics,โ coupled โwith damaging winds inโ the south โขdriven by a strong westerly jet stream. South-east Queensland, including Brisbane, could also experience heavy falls and isolated pockets of hail during Saturday afternoon. Gustyโข stormsโ are also anticipated over south-east NSW due to a separate weather system.
Aโ drierโ air mass is expected toโฃ moveโค through NSW and southern Queensland on Sunday, โtho โขhumid and stormy conditions will persist inโ the tropics.
The unusual โweather pattern is linked to a significant shift in wind patterns โthisโ spring, stemming from rapid โwarming โขover the South Pole in September. This warming weakened the polar vortex,causing the belt of westerly winds โขaround Antarctica to expand northward.
“Compared to normal, there has been a deviationโ to westerly winds this spring,” the article explains. For east coast cities, these westerlies bring warm breezes in spring. However, for southern coastlines, they deliver cool air from theโค Southern Ocean. This contrast is expected to โbe โคnotably โpronounced in โฃthe coming days,โข with Adelaide’s temperatures perhapsโ 10ยฐC lower than โSydney’s at similarโฃ latitudes.
Embedded within these westerlies are a series of cold fronts and โwaves of polar air tracking unusually far north for this โขtime of โคyear. Snow is forecast to begin falling on the highest peaks of Tasmania and the mainland on Sunday, intensifying with the arrival of colder โair onโ Mondayโ – the official start of summer. Currentโ modelling suggestsโค snow levels could reach as low as 1,300 metres inโข the mainland alps and 1,000 โmetres in Tasmania on Monday.
