May has kicked off with unusually warm weather in southwestern parts of Western Australia, after many parts had record breaking heat during April. Perth had its hottest April in 116 years of records, with an average maximum of 28.5 degrees. This has only happened three times since records began. In terms of minima it was the capital's second hottest April on record, second only to April 1962.
In the Great Southern District Narrogin, Brookton, Corrigin and Pingelly all broke records for minimum and maximum temperatures in April. Elsewhere, Esperance hasn't had a hotter April in at least 20 years, while for Medina you need to go back at least 26 years. It has been nearly a decade since Kalgoorlie had such hot April days.
Zane should be the first tropical cyclone in seven years to cross Queensland's Cape York Peninsula, likely reaching category three. Tropical Cyclone Zane formed off the Queensland coast on Tuesday morning as it quickly developed and sped westwards. The cyclone will move west-northwest and should cross the coast between Orford Ness and Lockhart River late on Wednesday as a category two or three cyclone.
The last time a tropical cyclone crossed the Peninsula was in April 2006 when Severe Tropical Cyclone Monica crossed just south of Lockhart River as a category three system.
Weatherzone, By: Brett Dutschke, Tuesday April 30, 2013 - 10:52 EST
Parts of Tasmania have just been hit by their first severe frost of the season with temperatures plummeting as low as minus five degrees, 10 below average. For some it was the most severe April frost in four years.
The thickest frost overnight and early this morning was in eastern, central and northern parts, where many centres recorded their lowest temperature since last September. Fingal, Ross and Cressy all had their coldest night since last winter with a minimum temperature of -4.6 and minus four degrees respectively, 10 degrees below the April average. This was also the coldest April night in four years for Fingal and Cressy.
It has been 45 years since Sydney has been as warm this late in autumn, bathing in 26-degree sunshine for the fourth day running. In the past 150 years the city has only once been this warm this late in the season. In 1968 it reached at least 26 degrees in the four days from 28th April to 1st May.
A big plus for many people is that this summer-like warmth, minus the humidity, covered most of the unofficial long Anzac weekend and final weekend of the school holidays. It was also not too bad for those who have had to put up with a standard two-day weekend. Both Saturday and Sunday reaching at least 26 degrees has not occurred this late in autumn since 1990.
Many inland parts of NSW are facing their driest April in more than a decade, with some towns having seen no rain at all this month. A series of broad, slow-moving high pressure systems have been responsible for predominantly clear skies and dry conditions, while preventing any strong rain-bearing fronts from reaching inland areas.
With only one day to go, much of the Upper Western is set to end the month with zero rainfall. This includes Brewarrina, Cobar and Lightning Ridge. It has been five years since Brewarrina and Lightning Ridge saw a dry April, and at least ten years for Cobar.
