Canberra's warmer-than-usual start to winter has seemingly hit the brakes with urgency on Tuesday morning.
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Despite a warm start to the month of June - relatively speaking, of course - the capital recorded a minimum temperature of minus 5.6 degrees in some parts on Tuesday morning, reminding us all what a Canberra winter really can do.
If that temperature wasn't cold enough, the apparent temperature about 7am was nearing minus 10 degrees, despite sitting at between minus 5.6 and minus 4.4 throughout Canberra.
According to the Bureau of Meteorology, the average minimum temperature for June is 1.1 degrees.
It will not be a warm day either, with the maximum temperature only expected to reach 10 on Tuesday, 3 degrees below the average maximum temperature for June.
The Bureau urges Canberrans to drive safely, as there will likely be ice on the road for a large portion of the morning.
Meteorologist at the Bureau of Meteorology Jiwon Park said there was a definite fall of snow in the Canberra region overnight.
"Based on the atmospheric profile of the airmass, we believe that the snow level in the ACT was between 700 or 900 metres," he said.
"The snow stick at Perisher showed that there was about 30 centimetres of snow [on Monday] and into early [Tuesday] morning.
"Given that the rain gauges in the Brindabella and Mount Ginini recorded about 10 millimetres of rainfall in liquid measure, which generally translates to 10 centimetres snowfall, we believe that the amount of snowfall in the higher parts of ACT would have been roughly about 10 centimetres ... [but] this figure could vary slightly in each location."
Over the past week, there has been a disparity between ambient temperatures and apparent temperatures, with the cold constantly feeling below freezing despite whatever the thermometer is telling us.
But it will be best to keep the heaters on for the next 48 hours, Canberra, as Wednesday is expected to be even frostier.
Last week, Canberrans were shocked to see the "feels like" temperature reach minus 5 degrees, but according to the Bureau of Meteorology the forecast minimum temperature for Wednesday morning is set to be a minimum of minus 5.
Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Jordan Notara said last Thursday that the difference in the two temperatures occured due to measurements of different parts of the weather.
"The temperature, often referred to as the ambient temperature, measures the actual amount of heat present in the air. It indicates the objective measurement of how warm or cold the air is in a given location," he said.
"On the other hand, the apparent temperature, also known as the 'feels like' temperature, takes into account additional factors such as wind speed and humidity to provide a subjective measurement of how the weather feels to us.
"For example, the wind chill factor can make the air feel colder by stripping away the insulating layer of warm air around us, while high humidity can make it feel hotter due to reduced evaporation of sweat from our skin."
Despite the utterly freezing morning, Wednesday is forecast to have a maximum temperature above Tuesday's, with 12 degrees expected.
Thursday will have a slightly higher minimum temperature of minus 1, but it will likely be a wet one instead. There is a high change of evening showers after a cloudy day, and patches of morning frost.
The rain is set to carry on through to Friday, but the minimum temperature is expected to stay in the positives.
A minimum of 3 degrees will be met with a high change of morning showers, before a windy day pushes the maximum temperature to 10 degrees.
But there may be some joy coming from the weekend, with no rain expected and all ambient temperatures forecast to be in the positive numbers.
Both days are expected to be partly cloudy, with Saturday forecasting a minimum of 2 degrees and a maximum of 12, and Sunday 1 and 13 degrees respectively.
It might be a good time to head to the snow if you can handle a chill in the air, Mr Park said.
"We expect that there may be a good settling of snow during the weekend, although it may be bit windy with fresh westerly winds on Sunday due to another cold front towards early new week," he said.
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Sara Garrity
Sara writes about general Canberra news. She has previously worked as the journalist at Allhomes, writing about property news through a Canberra lens. You can email story ideas or tips to Sara at sgarrity@austcommunitymedia.com.au.
Sara writes about general Canberra news. She has previously worked as the journalist at Allhomes, writing about property news through a Canberra lens. You can email story ideas or tips to Sara at sgarrity@austcommunitymedia.com.au.
