http://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/frost-replaces-winter-rain-in-canberra/526779

Frost replaces winter rain in Canberra

Ben Domensino, Thursday August 31, 2017 - 16:41 EST

Canberra just had its driest and frostiest winter in more than 30 years.

Clear skies are conducive to the formation of frost during winter months, so dry weather and cold nights often accompany each other. This season, Canberra had a surplus of both.

The nation's capital city only received 68.6mm of rain during winter, which is just over half of its long-term average for the season. This made it Canberra's driest winter since 1982. Rain fell on 29 days, which is five less than usual and the lowest number of rain days in five years.

The city registered 60 nights below zero degrees in winter, dragging the season's average minimum temperature down to -1 degree. This made it the coldest winter in 35 years based on minimums.

In contrast to the chilly nights, Canberra's maximum temperature during winter (13.5C) was more than a degree warmer than usual and the warmest in four years.

Based on the mean temperature of 6.3 degrees (combining minimums and maximums), Canberra had its coolest winter in 17 years.