Latest news with #Neuman
Sky News AU
21 hours ago
- Climate
- Sky News AU
Flood warnings easing across NSW with drier conditions forecast after wet weekend in Sydney
New South Wales residents can expect a reprieve from wet weather in the coming days, with drier conditions forecast following major downpours in Sydney. While minor flood warnings remain for the towns of Wee Waa, Bugilbone and Goangra in regional NSW, the Bureau of Meteorology has downgraded a flood watch warning for residents on the mid-north coast in anticipation of drier conditions. Sky News Weather Meteorologist Marina Neuman said dry conditions were expected to set in mid-week. They should offer respite for residents along the Naomi River, which flooded in several places following heavy rainfall on the weekend. 'We have seen significant rainfall over the last 10 days, and so far in August, Sydney has seen 194mm of rainfall, seeing a month's worth of rain over the last 10 days,' Neuman said. She explained this was the result of a low-pressure system colliding with warmer than usual sea temperatures off the NSW coast. 'Things are changing over the rest of the week with a high-pressure system moving in over Thursday and a series of cold fronts moving across Victoria," Neuman added. 'We do have a few more showers on the way, but we will see a shift in that weather pattern.' Elsewhere on Tuesday, most of the nation's capital cities can expect more of the same weather-wise, with many forecast to receive a mix of showers and sunny spells. Adelaide is forecast to see showers, as well as light winds in the afternoon. Temperatures will be mild in the South Australian capital, with a low of 11 and high of 17 degrees forecast. In the Sunshine State, Brisbane will start the day with overcast conditions with a low of 10 and a top of 22. Canberrans are in for a freezing start on Tuesday, with the mercury forecast to drop as low as negative two. Frosty conditions in nation's capital will then give way to a top of 16 and mostly sunny skies. Darwin is set for a sunny day and a top of 31 degrees, although locals should be wary of spending too long outdoors as the UV index will be at maximum. Cloudy conditions are expected in Melbourne, with a low of seven and a high of 15 degrees forecast alongside a chance of showers. Hobart residents face similar conditions, with showers, a low of five and a top of 16 expected. Sydney is set for more rain on Tuesday, with a 40 per cent chance of showers. Temperatures will also remain mild ahead of drier and sunnier conditions later in the week. Finally, Perth is set to see a sunny day, with the mercury expected to reach 23 degrees.
Sky News AU
6 days ago
- Climate
- Sky News AU
Northwest cloud band to bring days of heavy rain, gusty winds and cold snaps across Queensland as low pressure system builds off the coast
A sprawling cloud band stretching thousands of kilometres across Australia is set to drench parts of Queensland, with warnings of intense localised rainfall, strong winds, and unseasonably cool temperatures through the weekend. Parts of Queensland are in for a sodden weekend amid warnings of a powerful weather system set to unleash torrential rain, biting winds and a noticeable drop in temperatures across the state. A northwest cloud band extending over 3,000km from the Indian Ocean is clashing with a coastal low-pressure system between Maryborough and Yeppoon, creating the perfect conditions for widespread rainfall through central and coastal Queensland. Brisbane could face a wet start to the Ekka on Saturday, with 20mm of rain forecast and gusts of up to 30km/h. Further south, the Gold Coast is expected to collect as much as 95mm across three days, starting Friday. But the heaviest rainfall is set to hit central Queensland, where localised totals could soar to 300mm in areas closest to the low's path. Cities including Rockhampton, Gladstone and Yeppoon are all forecast to receive well over 50mm. 'Rainfall is starting to shift, moving further to the north. We are seeing spotty and isolated downpours. So, keep the umbrella on hand as it moves north with coastal showers moving up into Brisbane,' said Sky News Weather Meteorologist Marina Neuman. 'That will continue throughout the afternoon and into your evening commute times, so you will need the umbrella on hand and definitely throughout the week. 'We will see that system move out of the Outback and going to produce some showers for portions of Queensland.' Hervey Bay is predicted to get 20mm on Friday, with a further 50mm possible on Saturday. In Bundaberg, two-day totals could exceed 65mm, while weather forecasters are closely monitoring areas that may experience far more intense rainfall depending on the movement of the coastal low. While the initial downpour is expected to ease by Sunday, the broader system is only getting started. The northwest cloud band is dragging a thick stream of tropical moisture from the Indian Ocean, with its reach extending into New South Wales. — Bureau of Meteorology, Queensland (@BOM_Qld) August 6, 2025 This second pulse of rain will bring further wet conditions and see temperatures tumble across the region. 'On Thursday we will start to see some widespread showers moving across Charlesville and pushing into the east,' Neuman said. 'There will be some widespread and heavy falls at times with showers produced across Moree and Bourke, but focusing on Queensland, this is partially from that cloud band, and what we also have is an offshore trough. That is going to produce some heavy rainfall from Mackay, all the way down to Bundaberg. 'In terms of how much rainfall, from Rockhampton, all the way down to Lismore, we are looking at about 50mm and we could see a few isolated areas along the coast, some even seeing 75mm of rain.' The sudden change in weather will also see an unseasonal chill sweep across parts of Queensland. Thargomindah, in the far southwest Channel Country, is forecast to reach just 18C on Friday, well below its August average of 23.1C. Coastal wind warnings have been issued for the Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast and Capricornia regions. 'It'll also be cooler because of the increasing winds, increasing clouds and some of the showers and rain,' Ms Pumpa added While wind alerts remain in place, hazardous surf warnings have been lifted for beaches along the Gold Coast, though conditions are expected to remain rough heading into the weekend. Authorities are urging Queenslanders to stay alert to forecast updates, particularly in flood-prone areas or locations directly impacted by the low-pressure system.
Sky News AU
27-06-2025
- Climate
- Sky News AU
Frost expected in 'every single state' in the country amid chilly start to weekend as below-zero temperatures set in
Australians across the country will likely wake up to frost this weekend, with chilly morning ground temperatures having been forecast in 'every single state'. Frost warnings were issued for many regions in Australia's southeast for Saturday morning, including Canberra, where temperatures were expected to dip below zero. Sky News Meteorologist Marina Neuman said Saturday's frost forecast was 'widespread' across much of the country, affecting both east and west coasts. The large area of expected frost cover included ACT and most of New South Wales as well as parts of Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Northern Territory and Western Australia. 'That means the entire country, every single state, all likely to see frost at least somewhere within their respective state or territory on Saturday morning,' Neuman said on Friday evening. She said parts of the country's southeast recorded 'icy cold' temperatures on Friday morning, with Canberra plummeting to just 1.3C. The federal capital had been expected to drop to –5C on Saturday morning, while Sydney was forecast to drop to 7C. The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) issued frost warnings for parts of Victoria and South Australia on Saturday morning. In Victoria, severe frosts were forecast in northern parts of the state, with temperatures as low as –4C expected in some areas, which the BOM said could result in significant crop damage. Frost and temperatures of –1 were expected across several areas in South Australia, including in the Mid North, Upper South East, Murraylands and Riverlands districts. There is also a warning for sheep graziers in the Snowy Mountains area of NSW with chilly temperatures and northwesterly winds forecast for Saturday. A cold change is then set to move into the southeast from Sunday, which Neuman said is not expected to significantly shift temperatures. Forecast temperatures on Sunday includes 19C for Sydney, 21C in Port Macquarie, 20C in Coffs Harbour and 21C in both Brisbane and Gold Coast. 'What we're looking at is temperatures remaining right where they should be for this time of the year,' Neuman said. '... However, it might feel a bit cooler than that in Queensland because we have rainfall moving in. That's going to be all the way across the tropics, through the centre and well into the coastline, and so that could make it feel a bit cooler both Saturday as well as Sunday.' On Sunday, maximum temperatures forecast for other capitals includes 13C for Melbourne, 20C in Perth, 16C in Adelaide, 11C in Hobart, 13C in Canberra and 31C in Darwin.
Sky News AU
24-06-2025
- Climate
- Sky News AU
Australia's southern states warned to brace for 'extreme weather event' with high winds, rough seas to batter South Australia and Victoria
Extreme winds and damaging rough seas are forecast to continue for Australia's south, while upwards of 50cm of snow is predicted to fall over the nation's ski resorts. Extensive winds and coastal high tides are expected to converge over South Australia and Victoria on Wednesday. Sky News Meteorologist Marina Neuman warned the "entire coastline" in Australia's south-east will be under threat. 'We are seeing very high tides right now, as well as damaging surf warnings and coastal hazard warnings from those strong wind gusts,' Neuman said. The warnings come after Victoria's Mount Buller saw maximum wind gusts of 117km/h on Tuesday, while Mount William saw winds reach 98km/h and Horsham 91km/h. Wind gusts of over 100km/h were also recorded on SA's Neptune Island, while wild weather also brought heavy rain for several townships. Stenhouse Bay, Coffin Bay, Port Kenny, and Cape Borda all recorded their biggest single day of rainfall in over 12 months, with falls ranging between 20 and 31mm. Residents have since been warned dangerous conditions are set to continue over the coming days. 'We want people to keep themselves safe during this extreme weather event,'' SES Chief of Staff Derren Halleday said. 'If a jetty is closed, please avoid it. Some jetties are still undergoing repairs following a similar extreme weather event we experienced in late March. Abnormally high tides are also forecast for later this afternoon and into the evening.'' The Bureau of Meteorology's Jonathan Fischer urged locals to stay up to date with the latest warnings and forecast. The BOM has issued a coastal hazard warning for abnormally high tides in parts of the Adelaide Metropolitan, Mount Lofty Ranges, Lower Eyre, Eastern Eyre and Yorke peninsulas, and Mid North and Flinders districts. The same warning is in place for Victoria's Central, East Gippsland, South West and West, and South Gippsland forecast districts. 'Abnormally high tides may lead to sea water flooding of low-lying coastal areas for the entire Victorian coast, including Port Phillip. Tides are again expected to rise well above the normal high tide mark during Wednesday afternoon and evening high tide,' the BOM warned. Meanwhile, heavy snowfall is expected over the coming 24 hours, with many of the nation's ski resorts set to be blanketed. For the next week, upwards of 50cm of fresh snow is forecast for Perisher, Thredbo, Falls, and Hotham, with 40cm expected for Mount Buller. 'We are looking at some heavy snowfall. It's good news because earlier, rainfall diminished a lot of that existing snowfall, but we have plenty underway to replace it,' Neuman said. 'So, this is again great news, but we want to avoid the mountains right now. Very low visibility, blizzard conditions with that snowfall and the strong and damaging wind gusts the mountains are currently experiencing.'
Yahoo
24-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Parents, chill: Why you don't need to teach your 3-year-old to read
Recently, a friend gave me a hand-me-down kit filled with beautiful wooden games and brightly colored books that promises to teach my child to read. The phonics-based program, the company says, can be used as soon as a young child starts showing interest in books and telling stories, notices letters and words around them, knows how to hold a book, and understands that you read from left to right. That certainly describes my younger son, who just turned 3 and loves pretending to read picture books alongside his 6-year-old brother, who learned to read in kindergarten. But the set has been gathering dust in a cabinet for weeks. California's dismal reading scores point to the need to bolster doing early literacy. But at 3, my son still wears diapers and has the soft cheeks of babyhood. Is he really ready to learn how to read? What is the "right" age to start, and how young is too young? Before starting in on the reading lessons with my little guy, I decided to check in with a few literacy experts. Spoiler alert: Most told me to wait. "Can a child learn individual letters at 2½ or 3? Sure. But is it developmentally appropriate? Absolutely not," said Susan Neuman, a professor of childhood and literacy education at New York University. At age 3, she said, children learn language best through play and the back-and-forth with caregivers who talk, read and sing to them. Parents might read nursery rhymes, a powerful tool that teaches children rhymes they remember throughout their lives, she said. They might sing songs like the "Hokey Pokey" and "Itsy Bitsy Spider," which get children ready to hear and recognize the sounds of our language. "That's really essential. Oral language is the foundation of early literacy, and that's what we need to do at 3 or 4." Research suggests these oral skills may actually prove more valuable than learning to read early: Children who learn their letters early may be more "school ready" in kindergarten, but that benefit fades quickly as other children catch up. A strong vocabulary in the early years, however, predicts school readiness in the fourth grade, Neuman said. When is the "right age" for children to learn to read? We've all heard of the precocious children who learn to read on their own as early as age 2 or 3, but they are the outliers representing about 1% of children, said Neuman. For the vast majority of children, research suggests that ages 5 to 7 are the prime time to teach reading, said Maryanne Wolf, director of the Center for Dyslexia, Diverse Learners and Social Justice at UCLA. Reading words off a page is a complex activity that requires the brain to put together multiple areas responsible for different aspects of language and thought. It requires a level of physical brain development called mylenation — the growth of fatty sheaths that wrap around nerve cells, insulating them and allowing information to travel more quickly and efficiently through the brain. This process hasn't developed sufficiently until between 5 and 7 years old, and some boys tend to develop the ability later than girls. "I even think that it's really wrong for parents to ever try to push reading before 5," because it is "forcing connections that don't need to be forced," said Wolf. Parents who try to teach their children to decode words at 3 or 4 may end up turning their kids off from reading instead. Children who are drilled in flash cards and letter decoding may also miss out on the more essential moments of play, exploration and language. "Waiting doesn't hurt, but there is a risk that pushing will," Wolf said. In European countries such as Finland and Denmark that wait to teach reading until age 6 or 7 and focus instead on play and exploration, children tend to be more proficient readers and fewer struggle, said Wolf. If she had a magic wand, Wolf said she would require all schools in the US to wait until at least age 6. "It wouldn't work. The United States has a rapacious appetite for pushing kids. But I can at least make sure a child is given their sweet time in kindergarten," she said. But there are also experts who say letter sounds should be taught to 3-year-olds in preschool. "Children at age 3 are very capable," said Theresa Roberts, a former Sacramento State child development professor who researches early childhood reading. And it doesn't have to be a chore, she said. Her research found that 3- and 4-year-olds were "highly engaged" during 15-minute phonics lessons, and they were better prepared in kindergarten. They still had plenty of time to play and expand their vocabulary during the rest of the day, she added. As for my son and the reading set, Roberts told me to "Give him a go! Observe and see what happens." What's the best way for parents to get young children ready to read? Early literacy is key to helping children learn to read, but it "doesn't look like what older people might think," said Neuman. The skills that prepare a child to read begin developing in utero, as a baby listens to the familiar voices around them and begins to develop connections between sounds and the meanings of words in their home language. After birth, a baby is immediately immersed in a sea of words and rhythm, as their caregivers coo over them, chatter and sing lullabies. Parents should start reading to a baby early and often, beginning with soft cloth and board books. "Reading really begins under the crook of an arm on a beloved lap," said Wolf, who recommends parents develop a nightly reading ritual with their babies and surround them with letters and books to provide a linguistic-rich environment. When a parent reads a toddler a book such as "Pat the Bunny" and points out, "Oh, this is a bunny, bunnies have fur, pat the fur — that's all early literacy," said Linda Espinosa, a professor of education at the University of Missouri and co-chair of the committee who wrote a recent report on preschool curriculum for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. Singing the ABC's with them, teaching colors, and letting them play with magnetic letters on the fridge also promote vocabulary and oral language development, which are foundations for early literacy. It is also about letting toddlers tumble, explore and play. "When we talk about early literacy, we don't usually think about physical development, but it's one of the key components," said Stacy Benge, author of "The Whole Child Alphabet: How Young Children Actually Develop Literacy." Crawling, reaching across the floor to grab a block, and even developing a sense of balance are all key to reading and writing, she said. "In preschool we rob them of those experiences in favor of direct instructions," said Benge. "There's a lot of money to be made in our worry about our children being behind." Some children may become interested in the letters in their name, and want to copy them down or point out words that start with the same sound. Andmany will enter kindergarten already knowing some letters and sounds. But parents don't need to push too hard. "I'd say parents, relax, talk to your child, engage them in extended conversations, read to them, take them places," like the bank and grocery store, and tell them the names of the things around them, said Neuman. And as for that reading kit in my cabinet: "Wouldn't you rather just read to him and convey a love of reading to him? It really just depends on how you want to spend your time," said Neuman. "I'd say don't bother. Do something fun."
