Frost and wet snow in Jyväskylä, storms end hot run in Sydney

After a rather warm start to the week in Finland, temperatures dropped sharply once again towards the end. From 11.8C very early on Wednesday October 28, they declined to -9.5C by yesterday morning.

The sub-zero temperatures and high humidity yesterday led to widespread frost in Jyväskylä. With no wind and the accompanying sun, it was a really beautiful day.

The sun lighting up frost in Taulumäki on November 1

Clear skies and sun dominated the day

Temperatures briefly exceeded 0C on November 1, but frost in shaded areas remained

A warm front ahead of another low pressure system moving east across the Nordic region drove temperatures up in the early hours of today. It also brought precipitation. Some snow is on the ground around Jyväskylä today, but it's patchy due to most of the precipitation falling as wet snow. Temperatures will climb further as today wears on and they'll remain around 9C tomorrow before another drop back to around 0C by Thursday November 6.

The end of October and first day of November were hot in Sydney. Sydney Airport recorded three consecutive days above 30C for the first time since the end of January. With a maximum of 37.0C, yesterday was also the hottest day of the year, beating the 36.8C recording from January 2. December 20 last year was the previous day hotter than yesterday. That 37.0C recording came off the back of tops of 32.9C and 31.9C for the final two days of October.

A change arrived yesterday evening though. Storms and showers were predicted across the Sydney region throughout the late afternoon. Sydney Airport avoided the worst and only recorded 1.0mm of rain. A maximum wind gust of 76km/h was also seen.

Other areas fared worse. It was wind gusts, rather than rain, that caused the most damage. Isolated and powerful wind gusts were seen at various locations across Sydney. Sydney Olympic Park saw a maximum gust of 100km/h as a storm cell ripped through the area. This is the strongest gust seen there since at least the start of October last year. Penrith, in Sydney's west, also saw its strongest gust in more than a year with a 93km/h recording.

The change dropped temperatures from around 20C at midnight to 13.2C this morning. This was the coldest temperature seen at the Airport in two weeks. Like today, tomorrow should be a little cool also, before temperatures climb again on Tuesday and Wednesday.