THE INDIAN summer that brought wet and mild conditions to much of eastern and southern Australia throughout May is officially over.
Parts of inland NSW, Victoria and South Australia shivered through a string of five consecutive frosty nights while even suburban Sydney recorded temperatures as low as -1.
The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said a slow moving high pressure system had been responsible for a period of calm, fine weather, featuring sunny days with light winds but extremely cold nights.
In the Victorian Mallee, Hopetoun shivered through a night of -5, while it was also chilly in Horsham, -2.7 on Saturday night and Rutherglen dropped to -3.4 in a run of three consecutive nights below -3.
Through NSW, Mudgee dropped down to a minimum of 3.1, while Temora in the Riverina got down to -3.9, while in SA, Loxton logged a minimum of -2.9 on Friday night and Clare was down as low as -3 on Saturday night.
While the cold snap has made it difficult to jump out of bed in the morning it has had its benefits for the agriculture sector.
In Victoria, farmers are reporting the frosts, combined with widespread baiting, have put the brakes on surging mouse populations while through sodden parts of Victoria and southern NSW the cold and clear conditions have allowed paddocks to dry up.
This has allowed farmers who had been parked up due to excessive moisture, to get back on their ground to complete their sowing programs.
- Send your frosty morning photos through to the Farmonline team at gregor.heard@fairfaxmedia.com.au
Gregor Heard
Gregor Heard is ACM's national grains industry reporter, based in Horsham, Victoria. He has a wealth of knowledge surrounding the cropping sector through his 15 years in the role. Prior to that he was with the Fairfax network as a reporter with Stock & Land. Some of the major issues he has reported on during his time with the company include the deregulation of the export wheat market, the introduction of genetically modified crops and the fight to protect growers better from grain trader insolvencies. Still involved with the family farm he is passionate about rural Australia and its people and hopes to use his role to act as an advocate for those involved in the grain sector.
Gregor Heard is ACM's national grains industry reporter, based in Horsham, Victoria. He has a wealth of knowledge surrounding the cropping sector through his 15 years in the role. Prior to that he was with the Fairfax network as a reporter with Stock & Land. Some of the major issues he has reported on during his time with the company include the deregulation of the export wheat market, the introduction of genetically modified crops and the fight to protect growers better from grain trader insolvencies. Still involved with the family farm he is passionate about rural Australia and its people and hopes to use his role to act as an advocate for those involved in the grain sector.
