by: Sarah Elks and Harry Edwards From: The Australian
December 23, 2011 12:00AM
Scottish tourists Lynne and Sarah McDonald, with parents Jackie and Stewart McDonald, wrap up well for a trip on Sydney's manly ferry yesterday. Picture: Dan Himbrechts Source: The Australian
YOU know things are really grim when Scottish tourists are grumbling about the weather.
Since arriving in Australia two weeks ago, the McDonald family from Armadale in central Scotland have felt right at home - thanks to the persistent rain and cool temperatures across the eastern states.
So unprepared were the McDonalds for the dreary weather, they were forced to spend yesterday buying warm clothes to cope with the big chill.
"We came here for a really sunny climate, and we brought no jumpers with us," said Sarah McDonald, 22. "It's been cold and wet."
Indeed it has. Sydney has had its coldest start to a summer in 51 years, while Brisbane and Canberra haven't experienced cooler Decembers for 48 and 47 years respectively.
Just to be different, the town of Roebourne in Western Australia's Pilbara reached a scorching 49.4C on Wednesday - the hottest December day ever recorded in WA and the second-hottest in Australia - and got almost as high again yesterday.
Elsewhere, the outlook continues grey: southeast Queensland and eastern NSW are expected to be wetter than normal for the rest of the summer.
The unpopular La Nina ocean-atmosphere phenomenon is to blame, and is not expected to move on until well after summer.
There is hope, however, for a warm and sunny Christmas Day for large areas of the nation.
The Yuletide forecast from the Weather Channel's senior meteorologist Tom Saunders was this: "It will be a warm and humid Christmas Day over southeastern Australia, with afternoon showers and thunderstorms likely over Tasmania, Victoria and southern NSW. The rest of NSW, along with most of Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia should be dry."
But residents of the Northern Territory are facing an anxious Christmas weekend. Authorities in the Top End yesterday warned locals to waste no time in preparing for the cyclone brewing off the NT coast, which is forecast to intensify tomorrow.
The slow-moving low was last night 275km north-northeast of Darwin, with residents between the capital and Gove placed on cyclone watch.
The Bureau of Meteorology's Andrew Tupper said he was "highly confident" the system would form into a cyclone, probably by tomorrow morning.
It was too early to tell which direction the storm would head from there, but the Tiwi Islands were on high alert.
Northern Territory Police Commissioner John McRoberts said officers had doorknocked residents in remote communities yesterday, including on the islands, telling them to get ready.
"Preparation is the key here - don't waste any time," he said.
Mr McRoberts said plans were in place in case heavy rains cut off roads and halted barge services.
Chief Minister Paul Henderson urged residents to stay calm and be well prepared. He said Darwin's homeless would be moved into shelters should a cyclone bear down on the city.
Meanwhile on the Queensland coast, swimmers and boaties are being warned about the dangerous surf, a product of ex-tropical cyclone Fina, which yesterday weakened into a low in the Coral Sea, 800km east of Mackay.
The low-pressure system is moving slowly south.
Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Vinord Anand said it was edging closer to the coast, but would not re-form into a cyclone.
"We're going to see a bigger swell, as high as 4.5m on Sunday, from Fraser Island to Coolangatta," Mr Anand said.
"It'll be quite good for surfers on Sunday because the weather will be fine and warm."
