Another burst of wintry cold is heading Sydney's way early next week - but not before the city enjoys its mildest run of weather so far this month.
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Daytime temperatures touched 19 degrees on Thursday, with a similar top forecast for Friday and Saturday. For now, Sunday looks to be the pick of the bunch, with a sunny day and a top of 20 degrees predicted by the Bureau of Meteorology.
A cold front arriving late on Sunday, though, will remind Sydneysiders for a day at least that winter has some way to go yet.
"For south-eastern Australia, it won't be as cold as it got last week," Brett Dutschke, a senior meteorologist with Weatherzone, said, noting that fewer clouds and rain will be moving through.
Even so, commuters will most likely wake to a minimum of 6 degrees on Monday and Tuesday morning in the city, and as low as 1-3 degrees for those days in western areas such as Richmond.
Tops may reach about 14-15 degrees for Monday across the Sydney basin before maximums climb back to about 17-18 for Tuesday-Thursday, according to updated bureau forecasts.
"There will be significant wind chill all day, making it feel about 3 degrees colder," Mr Dutschke said. "Western Sydney will feel like it's freezing [at sunrise]," he added.
Unlike the two most recent cold fronts that dumped snow over large parts of NSW and even into Queensland, this front is faster moving.
It also won't contain a large pool of cool air and is unlikely to spawn a low pressure system, Mr Dutschke said. (See below the pressure chart for Sunday.)
Sydney is likely to get little rain over the coming week, with a top of 4 millimetres on Friday and a few more by next Wednesday on the current forecasts.
Inland regions, particularly on the Western Slopes and Plains have had a good month, with rainfall levels already exceeding July averages.
Blizzards
The Alps will get another good dump of as much as 20-40 centimetres of snow, although blizzard-like conditions on Sunday, in particular, may keep all but diehard skiers off the slopes.
Here's where the bureaus are predicting snow to have fallen by 10pm on Sunday:
Another cold front is likely to move through the region about a week later and that one may bring a bit more moisture. It is too early to forecast its likely strength, Mr Dutschke said.
While winter is not officially over for another month, there are signs things are warming up, especially in central Australia. The mercury is likely to rise to a top of 28 degrees in Alice Springs on Thursday.
Sydney is likely to post a rare month of below-average minimum temperatures for July but, short of a frigid end to the month, maximums will continue their run of above-average temperatures, according to bureau forecasts.
