Canberra is Australia's coldest capital city on average, with temperatures regularly dropping below zero during the winter months because of its higher than average elevation and it's bowl-like landscape in which colder air settles.
Canberra is Australia's coldest capital city on average, beating even Hobart despite being further north.
Canberra isn't the coldest place in Australia, but it's certainly the coldest capital city — even trumping Hobart and Adelaide despite their being further south.That's compared to an average high of 13.7 degrees in Melbourne, 17.8 in Sydney, 16 in Adelaide, and 12.8 in Hobart. Canberra is located within the peaks of the Great Dividing Range, and by Australian capital city standards sits quite high — with most major cities residing on or only slightly above sea level.
This bowl-like landscape means that cold, heavier air tends to settle and stay in the basin, creating brisker conditions. Hail forms through raindrops that are carried to higher elevations in a storm and then freeze in the cold temperatures of the atmosphere. "You do need specific conditions for hail to form, it being a very localised effect," Ms Perkins-Kirkpatrick said.Hail is also much more common along mountain ranges, such as the Brindabella Ranges, as mountains force horizontal winds upwards, also known as orographic lifting, increasing the force that can carry raindrops higher within thunderstorms and increasing the likelihood of hail forming.
"Ice cold mornings can and still will occur, but there will be a lower frequency of those really chilly days where it can get to minus 10 degrees Celsius, less than what has been seen historically," she said. Sarah Kirkpatrick says wineries should be preparing for climate change to make growing some kinds of grapes more challenging.
"The types of agriculture around Canberra may need to change to more heat-tolerant crops and livestock," Ms Perkins-Kirkpatrick said.
Act Local Stories Weather Cold Winter Climate Change Hail Snow Topography Elevation Great Dividing Range Rain Frost ANU Australian National University Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick Climate Science Professor Temperature
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