Record cold hits Top End, locals dig out winter wear
It might not be snow and blizzards, but this week Territorians and visitors to the Top End have been digging out long-forgotten jumpers and wooly socks. Statistics back this up, with some regions experiencing their coldest days on record.
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00:00Out and about in t-shirts again after a couple of unusually chilly Top End nights.
00:09I'm at 20, you know, expected in the dry season, but down to 14, 15, no.
00:13I fortunately looked at the television, which said it was going to be cool,
00:17and brought some warm clothes, otherwise I'd be freezing to death.
00:20Those visiting from the Red Centre were hoping to thaw out in the north.
00:25Yeah, it's bizarre. I came up here, I'm from the middle, near Alice, and it's minus two down there.
00:30I was coming up here looking for some hotter weather, and yeah, it's freezing. I can't believe it.
00:34It's extremely odd, isn't it?
00:36Odd, maybe, but not record-breaking for Darwin,
00:39despite temperatures plunging below 15 degrees on Thursday night.
00:44I am enjoying it. I am enjoying it. Yeah, yeah, but I hope it doesn't last too long.
00:48The Bureau of Meteorology says it's due to a high-pressure ridge moving across the territory.
00:54The colder weather is due to a big winter outbreak over southeastern Australia,
00:58and we've had some southerly winds push that cool air up into the Top End.
01:01Maybe not what tourists escaping extra-cold weather in New South Wales wanted to hear.
01:07We come up here for the hot weather, but we're not getting any.
01:11We'll have to buy a jumper or two, probably, but we'll put up with it.
01:16While there weren't records broken in Darwin,
01:19at least six locations between the Tiwi Islands and inland parts of the Top End
01:24shivered through their coldest day in decades.
01:27Daily waters dropped to one degree on Friday, their coldest temperature on record.
01:33Long-term Territorians saying the cold spell should be embraced.
01:37We wait for nine months of the year to get three months of beautiful weather,
01:42and this is part of the beautiful weather, so you're nuts to complain about it.
01:47It's been a below-average weekend, but sadly the cold isn't here to stay,
01:52with temperatures and humidity set to start edging back above average this week.