Rain and cool weather forecast for Queensland ahead of winter's arrival

Australia Broadcast Center

26-05-2025

A weather system headed for Queensland is set to bring autumn to an end a few days ahead of schedule, forcing Queenslanders to pull out their winter woollies.
Temperatures are forecast to plummet across much of the state by mid-week, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
"There's a big low sweeping across Queensland from today [Tuesday], it will hit the deep interior first," meteorologist Livio Regano said.
"Places like Mount Isa, through to Longreach and Charleville will see dropped temperatures by several degrees, from high 20s to near what you'd expect in mid-winter."
But towns further north will not feel the same icy blast.
"Think of the cold front as a long stalk — as it gets further north, it just basically blends into its surrounding atmosphere, and you don't notice it anymore," Mr Regano said.
Places like Cairns and Cooktown are not expected to see much change in temperature, while most towns south of Mackay will feel the drop.
"We could get down to a max of only 16 degrees Celsius around the Coalfields and Central Highlands, having been in the mid to high 20s," Mr Regano said.
It may also be time for Queenslanders to dust off their raincoats, with overcast and gloomy conditions on the horizon.
Mr Regano said an upper-level trough would start to migrate across western Queensland from Wednesday, reaching the east coast on Friday.
"It's a sheet cloud, so we'll see Melbourne-style weather, where it tends to fall a bit more uniformly rather than in lumpy patches as showers do," he said.
Isolated falls of up to 50 millimetres are forecast, but Mr Regano said the average would likely be around 10mm.
"It's not necessarily heavy but if you can imagine those cold winds undercutting the thick rain cloud, that's going to make for quite the chilly day, especially on Friday," he said.
Mr Regano said although the system was not unprecedented, it was not typical weather for this time of year.
"What's a bit unusual is this is an inland rain system — it will be coming from the west, not the ocean. But Tuesday will be the last day to get out in the open water [on the coast] if you want light winds."
Some outback Queensland communities were able to sense the rain before it fell, using local "tell-tale" signs.
In the north-west, properties around Julia Creek and Richmond have been inundated with swarms of gidgee bugs — an outback barometer that falls are on the way.
Although cooler temperatures are on the way, southern Queenslanders have until now enjoyed a warm end to May, with temperatures in parts of the region reaching the high 20s Monday.
The temperature in Tooowoomba reached 26.6C on Monday, just trailing the garden city's record for the month, 27.2C, set in 1958.
So far, every regional centre in Queensland has enjoyed warmer May average minimums compared to previous years — except for Cairns, which dipped by 0.2C to 21.6C.
Bundaberg has so far averaged a maximum temperature of 26C — beating its average of 24.9C.
Rockhampton has also been above its May average maximum of 26.1C at 27.4C, while the Gold Coast has recorded an average maximum of 24C.