Dominic Bossi July 12, 2012
It will seem more January than July during a warm and sunny afternoon tomorrow, but meteorologists say there is nothing unusual with this hot winter's weather.
It was T-shirt weather in the middle of winter yesterday with a top of 20 degrees, and only cloud cover and light rain prevented a similar temperature today. It is set to hit 21 degrees by early tomorrow afternoon, well above the month's average of 16.3 degrees.
The Bureau of Meteorology says this sporadic pattern of warm temperature is common in the winter months due to cold fronts bringing hot air over Sydney.
"Ahead of a cold front, we tend to have more of a north-westerly air stream, which brings a milder air mass down from the central parts of the continent, so you get warmer air over Sydney," the Bureau of Meteorology's Chris Webb said. "There will be a gradual cooling trend over the weekend. This is completely standard; it's how it often works."
There is a possibility of light and patchy rainfall continuing overnight but meteorologists are predicting clear skies and a warm day tomorrow, which could last throughout the weekend.
"As far as Sydney goes, we're not expecting anything heavy, just light to moderate patchy rain over the next 18 hours and then it will be gone for a beautiful sunny day tomorrow, mostly sunny for the weekend but getting a bit cooler as the air mass tends more south-westerly," Mr Webb said.
Cooler and more stable weather will return to Sydney on Saturday night as the cold front will be replaced by a high pressure ridge. This will bring only light winds that will not carry warm air from the north, or cold air from the south, according to the bureau.
Clear skies are forecast for the weekend but it will begin to cool on Sunday and return to a high of 17 degrees, remaining similar until Tuesday.