Brrr! Perth Just Had Its Coldest Morning Since 2021
Perth locals woke up to a proper winter chill this morning, with temperatures plummeting to a teeth-chattering 3.2°C, the coldest we’ve seen in two years. If you thought the city was cold, Perth Airport was even more brutal, dropping to a bone-chilling 1.6°C just after 7am.
While we’re used to some nippy winter mornings here in Perth, this one’s definitely got people talking. Though it’s worth noting we’re still nowhere near our all-time low of -0.7°C from that freezing June morning back in 2006.
So what’s behind this arctic blast? Weather expert Patch Clapp from the Bureau of Meteorology says it’s pretty straightforward – a cold front swept through earlier this week, leaving crystal-clear skies in its wake. Without any cloud cover to trap the warmth, all that heat just escaped into space overnight.
“This kind of thing happens fairly often in winter,” Clapp told PerthNow. “When you get clear skies after a cold front, the ground just loses heat like crazy.”
The countryside copped it even worse. Collie dropped below zero to -0.2°C, while Bridgetown wasn’t much warmer at 0.5°C. Local farmers and early risers found their paddocks covered in frost, and plenty of people had to scrape ice off their windscreens before heading to work.
Bad news if you’re not a fan of the cold, we’re in for more of the same this week. With clear skies sticking around, temperatures are expected to hover around 5°C in the mornings. Time to dig out those extra blankets!
Health officials are reminding everyone to rug up, use heaters safely, and keep an eye on elderly neighbours and pets during this cold snap. And if you’re wondering what Mother Nature has in store next, you can always check the latest forecast at the Bureau of Meteorology.
