Winter in tropical north Queensland typically calls for T-shirts and sandals, but locals are getting a taste of Melbourne as the state's east coast shivers through a record-breaking cold snap and unseasonal wet weather.
The maximum temperature in Townsville hit just 15.1 degrees Celsius yesterday — about 9C below the monthly average — smashing the city's previous July record of 16.4C set in 1979.
Kowanyama, Mackay, Emerald, Rockhampton, Gympie, Toowoomba and the Sunshine Coast airport also broke their July records, as temperatures dipped by up to 12 degrees below average.
The Bureau of Meteorology said some centres also recorded their coldest-ever annual day, including Hamilton Island, Gladstone, Kingaroy and the Gold Coast Seaway.
"The weather we've experienced over the past 24 hours is extremely unusual," meteorologist Harry Clark said.
Brisbane recorded its coldest maximum temperature since 2000 on Tuesday, with the mercury only reaching 12.4C.
"The temperatures are more akin to Melbourne or some of those southern capitals where this is their typical winter weather," Mr Clark said.
The weather bureau said a combination of thick cloud undercut by cold southerly winds was to blame for the unusually low temperatures and wet conditions.
The rain has broken July records in several locations, including Bowen, Hamilton Island, Mackay and Cairns, but Mr Clark said the worst was over.
"The rain is now starting to shift eastwards so later [on Tuesday] we will see that rainfall start to move off the east coast, with just a few lingering showers into Wednesday for south-east Queensland," Mr Clark said.
"We will see temperatures rebound over much of Queensland tomorrow, but the true return to average for most places will be on Thursday, with most locations getting into the very low 20s once again."
The gloomy weather has been a shock for Sydney residents Janet and Bruce Long, who had travelled to Townsville to visit their grandchildren.
"We were up here two years ago … and it was strictly like summer for Sydneysiders — T-shirts and thongs — and we were expecting the same this time," Mr Long said.
Central Highlands cattle producer and grower Trina Patterson recorded 45.5mm of "constant, soaking rain" at her property near Rolleston over the weekend.
"The country was already quite wet and there's a couple of gullies that are trickling away this morning," Ms Patterson said.
She said it was beautiful rain but a little inconvenient because she had one more paddock of sorghum to harvest.
"We're not alone, there's plenty of people trying to farm country and plant and harvest at the moment," she said.
Ms Patterson said despite the poor timing, it had been a great season for grass cover.
"The country is looking fabulous and all the soil profiles they should all be nicely wetted up for cultivation, so everything's great," she said.
