Brisbane Just Shivered Through Its Coldest February Day In Half a Century

Feeling a little chilly, Brisbanites? That's understandable — the sky is grey, rain keeps drizzling down and the cooler weather isn't expected to lift until tomorrow. But it's not just a cold spell in summer that's making the city shiver, but the fact that Brisbane just experienced its coldest February day since 1961.

Yesterday, the mercury didn't pass 22 degrees. And if you can't remember the last time it was this cool at this time of year, that's because it has been 15 years since anything came close. Back in 2003, Brisbane hit a top of just 22.1 degrees one February day, but we're usually sweltering through 30.2-degree average temperatures. In fact, some parts of south-east Queensland recorded their lowest-ever maximum February temperatures yesterday, Brisbane Times reports, including Oakey, Gatton, Warwick, Toowoomba, Kingaroy, Gayndah, Stanthorpe, Applethorpe, Gympie, Archerfield and Coolangatta.

To put the dip in context, 21.4 degrees is the month's average minimum temperature — but yesterday's top temp only exceeded it by 0.6 degrees. And, the drop comes after a warm and dry January, with the Bureau of Meteorology stating that "daytime temperatures were much warmer than average overall," over the past month.

Indeed, Brisbane experienced 30-degrees-plus temperatures at the beginning of this week, but is expected to hit the same low maximum of 22 degrees today. Showers are expected to hang around all week, but temps will start creeping up again from Sunday, though exceeding 30 degrees isn't forecast until Friday.

Via Brisbane Times / 7 News / Weatherzone / Bureau of Meteorology.