Welcome to winter Forbes!
Some of us may have been a little unprepared for the icy blast that greeted us on Wednesday, the first day of winter.
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A strong cold front and deep low-pressure system moved through south-east Australia on Monday, bringing a band of rain, damaging winds for some areas and a drop in temperature.
The air was that chilly, it had to have been snowing somewhere, and sure enough Orange had an overnight dusting of snow and temperatures no higher than 4.9 degrees all day.
The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) reported about five centimetres of snow was recorded in the Central Tablelands on Tuesday night and Wednesday.
Over the first four days of winter, temperatures haven't gone above 13.8 degrees in Forbes.
It was 3.5 degrees on the first day of winter, the lowest of the four days, according to the BoM weather station at the Forbes Airport.
It was a degree warmer in Parkes on the first day and temperatures there didn't go above 13.3. Cowra was similar with 4.3 degrees on day one and a top of 12.1 over the last four days.
The frosty temps had us wondering whether we were off to a chillier than normal start to winter, so we compared the lowest temperatures from the first four days of June over the last five years.
According to the BoM, the first day of winter last year was colder in Forbes than this year, at 0.6 degrees. But the days that followed were 0.3 to five degrees warmer.
June 2020 had a much warmer start, its temperature on June 1 more than doubling this year's at 9.1 degrees.
But the coldest start was in 2018 at -0.7 degrees and June 2 colder at -1.5.
2019 had a 1.5 degree start to winter, with all four temps no warmer than 5.6.
Overall, 2019 was the coldest June between 2018 and 2021 with an average daily minimum temperature of 2.6 degrees.
Showers are expected for the next three days but morning temperatures will rise just a little before dropping again to between three and five degrees from Tuesday to Friday.
It's forecast each day will reach a top of 10 to 15 degrees.
Christine Little
I love sharing people's stories, particularly local stories that are special and important to the people of Parkes. If there is one thing I have learnt in my 10 years of community journalism, it's that stories are everywhere. All it takes is a good story teller to make it worth reading. Email: christine.little@parkeschampionpost.com.au
I love sharing people's stories, particularly local stories that are special and important to the people of Parkes. If there is one thing I have learnt in my 10 years of community journalism, it's that stories are everywhere. All it takes is a good story teller to make it worth reading. Email: christine.little@parkeschampionpost.com.au
