Cold in Jyväskylä but change coming, temperatures steady in Sydney

Cold conditions continued in Jyväskylä during the weekend and today. It has been mostly dry as well, with light snow on Saturday the only recorded precipitation since December 21.

In the far north, Inari saw a low of -36.4C around midday today. This is the coldest temperature seen in Finland this winter. Cold temperatures extended south all the way to Helsinki too. Helsinki-Vantaa Airport saw it drop below -20C this evening.

As for temperatures in Jyväskylä, since December 23, only Boxing Day saw the mercury climb above -5C. Even then it was only to -4.9C. Yesterday saw the third lowest daily minimum of the year. January 23 and 24 are the only days of the year to have dropped below -25C, to -27.3C and -27.7C respectively, but December 28 came fairly close. It dipped to -24.5C just before 11pm last night. 

Temperatures today didn't climb above -15C at Jyväskylä Airport until just after 6pm. A warm front will push east across Finland during tonight causing temperatures to climb across the next 30 hours. The climb will be fairly dramatic with forecasts predicting it to be 2C already in the early hours of Wednesday.

The front is also predicted to bring snow from around 2am or 3am tomorrow. Tikkakoski's snow depth still sits at 16cm but it remains to be seen how much will be left after the warmer temperatures arrive. Mild weather is forecast from Wednesday until Saturday morning, before temperatures should drop once again.

Sun accompanied the cold temperatures on December 29

Daytime temperatures hovered around -18C in Jyväskylä

Conditions have remained quite similar in Sydney during the past few days. The second half of December has seen the odd cooler day among warmer days, and the past weekend started in the same way. After a top of 27.4C at the Airport on December 26, Saturday only got to 22.2C, the second lowest daily maximum for the month. 

Yesterday saw a return to temperatures above 25C with a top of 26.2C, and today also reached 28.5C. Minimums have remained above 18C for just over a week now. The average minimum sits at 19.0C. It can drop to 18.9C in the final days of the month and it will still be the warmest average minimum for a December since at least 2009.

The coming week looks good. Other than New Year's Eve, which is still forecast to reach 24C, other days are all likely to reach maximums between 27C and 30C.

Christmas weather in Sydney and Jyväskylä

Warm daytime temperatures and afternoon and evening storm activity returned to Sydney for Christmas Day this year. Despite Christmas Eve only just topping 23C at Sydney Airport, the rest of this week has seen maximums above 28C. It got to 29.4C today, the warmest temperature since December 8.

Minimums have also been up on figures from last week. Tuesday's 21.4C minimum was the highest since March 10's 21.8C. While the 21.4C minimum is the highest so far this month, compared to the previous five Decembers, only 2011 had a lower respective figure.

Storm activity built west of the Blue Mountains this afternoon. Penrith saw its first rainfall around 4pm as the front moved east. The rain reached Sydney Airport just over an hour later. At the forefront of the rain was a weak southerly change which dropped temperatures at the Airport around 6C in the hour following 4:30pm.

Rain wasn't especially heavy and therefore totals weren't high initially, but a steady flow of showers throughout the evening helped the Airport record 13.0mm by midnight. This is the highest daily total in two and a half weeks. Other locations around Sydney saw higher totals though. Terry Hills recorded 36.8mm, 35.4mm fell at Camden and Observatory Hill also saw a higher measurement with 28.6mm.

After a black Christmas for much of Finland in 2013, almost the whole country has seen a white one this time around. Even southern locations like Helsinki and Turku saw snow, some of it falling on Christmas Eve, the traditional day for Finns for celebrate Christmas. Jyväskylä's snow depth has remained around 15cm since the weekend. The precipitation streak ended at 17, and no days this week have experienced any falls.

Temperatures in Jyväskylä climbed from below -20C to just above -10C on Christmas Day

Lake ice has thickened quite a bit since temperatures dropped below -5C on December 22

As predicted, a high pressure system arrived over Finland earlier this week and temperatures have dropped dramatically since the weekend. Last Saturday, December 20, the maximum was 0.8C. Early this morning temperatures dropped below -20C at Tikkakoski for the first time since January 31. Yesterday's high of -12.5C was also the coldest maximum since January 30.

The past five days have seen the average minimum drop from -1.9C on the 20th to -4.4C by today. The average maximum has also dropped from 1.4C to -0.2C.

Clear skies are typically associated with these colder temperatures, and there have been a few breaks, but cloud has mostly dominated the past few days. Temperatures should remain cold until next week. At the moment it looks like the New Year will see a return of warmer weather, possibly back above zero.

More snow in Jyväskylä, windy in Sydney

Jyväskylä continued its consecutive run of daily precipitation today. Snow this morning made it the 16th straight day on which rain or snow has fallen at Tikkakoski. The past few days have mostly seen snow and, as a result, the snow depth now sits at 16cm. This is the highest depth for the season so far. During the 2013/14 winter only a brief period in February had a greater depth. The maximum snow depth for the whole season was only around 18cm.

Despite 16 straight days of precipitation, totals haven't been especially high. Only December 6 and 17 so far have recorded a daily total above 4mm. The 17th had the highest with 5.4mm. The graph below shows the steady increase of the monthly total which now sits at 42.2mm up until 11am today.

Cumulative rainfall for December at Jyväskylä Airport up until 11am December 20

Temperatures have still been hovering close to zero, although more so on the minus side compared to the month's first couple of weeks. Thursday saw the temperature reach a top of -1.6C, the lowest maximum since November 22, while the minimums for the 17th and 18th were -3.3C and -3.0C, the lowest since December 2.

Earlier forecasts that predicted a cold change this weekend were slightly off by a couple of days. However, temperatures will drop at the start of the coming week and, at least for Central Finland, Christmas 2014 should be a white one. Additional snow is predicted to fall later today and tomorrow and with temperatures dropping and remaining below zero from today onwards, the snow will surely stick around. Forecasts currently show drops to -18C or so towards the end of next week.

Sun briefly peeked through the clouds on December 18

Dry conditions have lasted a week in Sydney, but more typical summer temperatures haven't really been seen since earlier in the month. At Sydney Airport, only four of the 12 days from December 9 reached or exceeded 26C. A maximum of 28.4C on the 15th is the highest from the period. 

Yesterday saw the eighth day so far this December with a strongest wind gust above 65km/h at the Airport. As shown in the graph below, since the start of last year only the month of October 2013 recorded more with nine. A gust of 80km/h from December 11 remains as the strongest of the month to date.

The monthly number of maximum daily wind gust recordings above 65km/h at Sydney Airport
(1 January 2013 to 17 December 2014)

Warm start to December in both cities

Both Sydney and Jyväskylä have seen an above average start to December. Warm and sticky weather punctuated by storms has been seen in Sydney, while temperatures in Jyväskylä haven't been anywhere near the lows typically experienced at this time of the year.

Three of the four progressive averages as seen below are the highest among the past few years. The average minimum for Sydney is the second highest.

Progressive average minimum for December at Sydney Airport for the period 2009-2014 plus the long term average

The average minimum for Sydney had continually been above 19C until yesterday, the 14th day of the month. Yesterday saw the coldest temperature so far this month, a minimum of 15.6C. Since 2009, 2010 was the only other year not to see a temperature below 15C in the first half of December.

Currently forecasted minimums for the coming week put 2014's line above that of 2010. The forecasts for recent days, however, have been slightly off. For example, the prediction for yesterday was for a low around 18C, yet it dropped more than 2C below that.

Progressive average maximum for December at Sydney Airport for the period 2009-2014 plus the long term average

Other than 2011, which holds the record for the lowest average maximum with 22.6C, other years saw fairly similar progress after the first two weeks and a similar final figure above the long term average. December this year saw the first eight days of the month surpass 28C at the Airport and the average held above 30C for a week long period after the 2nd. Temperatures have been a little cooler since the middle of last week though. The highest temperature between the 11th and 13th was only 23.5C.

Based on current forecasts, the average maximum will remain above the previous five years until December 20 when it dips below 2013's figure. There'll have to be plenty of hot days towards the end of this December for it to achieve record levels though. 2005's 29.5C is a fair way off the projected 27.3C by the 22nd.

Progressive average minimum for December at Jyväskylä Airport for the period 2008-2014

After two minimums below -5C to the start the month, the only two such recordings so far, the average minimum at Jyväskylä Airport has climbed to the top of respective figures after the first half of December. The lack of cold temperatures is clear. All of the remaining 15 days so far have failed to go below -3C. 2008 and 2011 saw the next nearest number with 9 days above -3C. 2010 and 2012 saw no minimums higher than -3C for the same period.

Cold temperatures may finally be on the way though. Forecasts have again been fluctuating quite a lot for the coming 10 days, but temperatures could drop to -15C or lower next Monday or Tuesday. If this forecast is correct the average minimum will drop below the figures from 2008 and 2011.

Progressive average maximum for December at Jyväskylä Airport for the period 2008-2014

For the average maximum, the orange line sits above the others once again. December 2014's warm start has seen only two days that remained below zero. And even then the coldest so far was December 1's -0.6C. For some comparison, in the first 15 days of December in 2009, 2010 and 2012 the coldest respective maximums were -17.8C, -18.9C and -18.8C.

The next few days should remain fairly mild with temperatures hovering around 0C or just below. A high of -8C is currently predicted for December 23 and that would help the average drop below that of 2011 and 2013. As I said though, the forecasts have been changing rather quickly in the past couple of days and there is a lot of uncertainty over temperatures following the end of this week. For example, yesterday the predicted maximum for December 23 sat at 3C.

Remnants of Alexandra bring snow to Jyväskylä

Alexandra, the storm associated with a low pressure system in the North Sea during the week, has weakened in the past 48 hours while moving east, but it did bring an additional band of precipitation to Finland late last night and today. The southern half of the country has received the bulk of falls, which have included rain, wet snow and snow.

In Jyväskylä it was snow that fell. The snow depth at Jyväskylä Airport is currently sitting at 8cm. Only November 7 had seen a depth that great so far this winter season. Up until 5pm this afternoon 2.6mm of precipitation had been recorded at Tikkakoski. Today is the ninth consecutive day of precipitation, equalling the current highest run this year. Wind warnings were also in place yesterday evening, but gusts in Jyväskylä weren't especially strong.

Temperatures held above zero after midnight, but they dipped below the mark just after 9am this morning. Snow began falling after 8am and has continued for most of the day. The mercury hasn't dropped that much though, only as low as -0.8C so far today.

Light snow also fell during the early hours of December 12

Snow in Viitaniemi during the afternoon of December 13

Tomorrow could be the first day entirely below zero since the first day of month, but Monday through to Friday are likely to see plus temperatures again. Current forecasts are predicting a sharp drop in temperatures late next Saturday, or possibly Sunday morning. Whether that forecast holds until then remains to be seen.

Mild December continues for Jyväskylä, cooler in Sydney

The start of December for 2014 has been rather warm for Jyväskylä compared to historically typical weather seen at this time of the year. Persistent and mild southerly winds have kept temperatures up and precipitation has been seen on nine of the 11 days so far.

Current averages for Jyväskylä are sitting at their highest level in comparison to the first 11 days of Decembers between 2008 and 2013. Only December 1 failed to go above zero and with every other day surpassing 1C, the average maximum sits at 2.2C. After 11 days of December only 2011 in the years since 2008 had seen a comparable figure of nine days above 0C. 2010 and 2012 didn't see any.

December 4's daily maximum of 4.3C sits as the highest of the month so far. It was the highest temperature seen in three weeks. 2009, 2012 and 2013 all recorded December maximums higher than that though.

Similar to those seen in November and December last year, a strong storm associated with a low pressure system has been causing dangerous weather conditions in the North Sea. The storm, named Alexandra, has been moving from Greenland in a southeasterly direction since earlier this week. It brought very heavy snow and wild winds over 150km/h to Iceland yesterday. The capital, Reykjavik, recorded a gust at 111km/h. This video taken there yesterday shows the blizzard conditions experienced.

Synoptic chart and temperatures for Europe at 2pm Finnish time on December 10
Source: Finnish Meteorological Institute

The United Kingdom and Ireland have been seeing the effects of the storm as well with strong winds, damaging waves and rain and snow. In Finland, strong southerly winds are being experienced throughout most of the country. Wind gusts in Jyväskylä topped 50km/h yesterday evening, some of the strongest seen for quite some time. Areas of Vaajakoski, 10km from the centre of Jyväskylä, lost power as a result of the winds.

Snow fell in Jyväskylä last night but temperatures above 2C today have melted almost all of it. Today is the seventh consecutive day on which precipitation has been recorded. So far this year there have been four other periods of seven or more consecutive days of precipitation at Tikkakoski. Falls haven't been especially high though. December 6's 5.1mm stands as the highest daily total of the month at the moment.

Strong southerly winds were experienced in Sydney today also. A gust of 80km/h was recorded at the Airport this afternoon at 1:36pm. It was the strongest since November 16. The winds helped keep temperatures down too. With a top of 23.1C, it was the coolest maximum in two weeks. Late evening temperatures dropped to 17.1C, also the coolest minimum seen since late November.

The cooler temperatures were accompanied by showers as well. Sydney Airport recorded 6.8mm late yesterday evening and a further 9.8mm has fallen today. Sydney Olympic Park continued its run as one of Sydney's top receivers of rain for the month with a further 11.2mm and 29.2mm yesterday and today.

Wrap-up of Sydney's early December storms

It has been a very warm start to December this year. Today, the ninth day of the month, was the first that failed to top 28C at Sydney Airport. Of the other eight, only December 6 didn't go above 29C and now the average maximum after nine days sits at 29.8C. The previous respective figure above that was in 2005 when the first nine days of December had an average maximum of 30.3C.

Today's maximum of 24.6C ended not only a run of 10 straight days above 25C, the longest since a 12 day run from January 10 to 21 earlier this year, but also a 10 day run above 27C. The previous higher number of consecutive days above 27C was 12, from January 28 to February 8 back in 2009.

The month so far has been characterised by these very warm temperatures, but also by the build up of storms west of Sydney and their subsequent movement towards the coast in the late afternoon or evening. The week-long period between December 2 and 8 has seen strong wind gusts, hail, very heavy, localised rain and flash flooding across the city. Some figures and more information from the past week are below.

December 2
The month's second day saw falls in the early hours of the morning. A total of 6.2mm was recorded at the Airport, the highest daily total since October 15. It reached 31.2C in the afternoon, making it the first day above 30C in just over a week.

December 3
December 3 saw storm activity build during the early afternoon. Maximums around the city for what is the warmest day of the month so far included 33.1C at Sydney Airport, 36.5C at Badgerys Creek, while Richmond saw the highest temperature of the Sydney region with 37.7C.

Storms arrived just before 5pm in the west. Richmond saw an 80km/h wind gust at 5:02pm. A gust of 72km/h was also seen at the Airport 25 minutes later at 5:27pm. There were heavy falls in the west. Horsley Park, about 35km west of the city, saw the highest total in the region with 46.4mm. Sydney Olympic Park recorded 36.6mm while Observatory Hill saw 23.6mm. Only 9.2mm fell at the Airport.

December 4
Temperatures fell just short of 30C on Thursday December 4. Storms built more slowly and from a later point in the day compared to Wednesday. Their arrival to the Sydney region wasn't until later in the evening. From 10:30pm to 12:30am December 5, Sydney Airport recorded 21.4mm.

December 5 
Friday afternoon saw a very menacing looking storm hit the city. The Airport was spared heavier falls though as only 0.8mm was recorded there during the whole day.

December 5's storm approaching the city as viewed from Bondi Junction
Source: Reddit user h3ndofry - Imgur

The view of the storm from Circular Quay as it charged east over Sydney Harbour
Source: Reddit user kalvin74 - Imgur

The leading edge of the storm in Mona Vale on Sydney's Northern Beaches
Source: Reddit user It_Is_Known - Imgur

December 6
The weekend continued in the same fashion as the previous few days. It reached only 28.5C at the Airport, breaking a run of six days above 29C. Once again storms built in the mountains, this time to the north west of Sydney and headed in a southeasterly direction. Many locations around Sydney recorded their highest daily totals of the month so far. Sydney Olympic Park saw 39.4mm between 9am and midnight. Richmond recorded 33.6mm and the Airport 16.4mm.

A total of 49.6mm fell at Penrith. The Bureau of Meteorology's 49.6mm recording to 9am on December 7 was the highest 24 hours to 9am total there since January 29 last year.

December 7
Sunday was rather similar to Saturday with a storm in the late afternoon. Homebush again bore the brunt of the heavy ran with 44.2mm; 41.6mm of which fell between 4:30pm and 5:30pm. The Airport received 23.8mm in the hour between 5pm and 6pm. 24.2mm had fallen by midnight, the highest daily total of the month so far.

Earlier in the day, just after 12:30pm, Camden saw wind gusts up to 89km/h. The previous strongest gust was recorded almost exactly a year ago; December 5 2013 saw a gust of 106km/h.

December 8
Monday December 8 finally saw some respite for the city. A few showers were around in the morning and the Airport recorded 1.6mm between 6:30am and 8:30am. Temperatures climbed to 32.7C just before 1pm. A brief storm added a further 1.2mm to the daily total and a 76km/h wind gust was also recorded.

The seven day period above is the longest rain period since the beginning of September. With the monthly total at the Airport now standing at 81.2mm, it is also the wettest start to a December since 1992. Over 100mm was recorded in the first eight days then.

Other totals around the city so far this month include 162.0mm at Sydney Olympic Park, 137.8mm at Richmond, 111.6mm at Penrith and 103.2mm at Camden. Observatory Hill has escaped some of the heavier falls and its total currently sits at 65.8mm.

The coming week should see further falls around Sydney with showers increasing tomorrow to rain by Thursday. Temperatures will be a little cooler, but should still be comfortably above 20C.

November 2014 Review - Sydney

It was a very warm and dry November for Sydney in 2014. More than half of the month saw daily maximums exceed 25C and a new record for the lowest daily maximum helped Sydney Airport record the fourth warmest average maximum on record. The threat of storms was evident at times during the month but the Airport escaped heavier falls like those seen in Western Sydney. This led to November 2014 being the fifth driest on record.

The average minimums and maximums from the past six years plus the long term average are shown below.

November averages at Sydney Airport for the period 2009-2014 plus the long term average

At 2.3C above the long term average, 2014's average maximum was the fourth warmest for a November since 1939. 2009 holds the record with 27.2C. The figures of 26.7C from 1968 and 26.5C from 1957 are the second and third warmest. Using Bureau of Meteorology methods, the average minimum for the month sat at 17.9C. This is the second highest on record. 2009 also holds this record with a figure of 18.5C.

The coldest temperature of the month was, unsurprisingly, earlier on. The morning of November 2 dipped to 13.2C. Of the past six years, 2009 and 2011 recorded warmer figures. The highest minimum came on the 24th. It never dropped below 21.0C then. Again 2009, as well as 2010, had a warmer respective figure.

The month's hottest day was November 14 as it reached a top of 38.0C. November 1 and 21 also passed 35C, with both on their way to 37.0C. The 38.0C recording was the hottest November temperature since 42.5C was recorded on November 22 back in 2009. 2009 also recorded another day above 38C, but you have to go back a few more years to 2006 to find the next occurrence prior to that.

The new record set for November at Sydney Airport was the lowest daily maximum. The 27th was the coolest day reaching only 21.1C. Only two Novembers since 1939 had seen a lowest maximum at 20C or above. The previous record was held by 1997 when the coldest day was 20.2C.

The month saw six days top 30C at the Airport. As mentioned above, three of those six climbed above 35C. The record number of days above 35C for a November is four, jointly held by 1957, 1967 and 1968. Of the Novembers since 1968, 1980, 2002, 2004 and 2009 also recorded three days above 35C.

Daily minimums and maximums against rainfall at Sydney Airport for November 2014

The month was very dry at the Airport. The calendar month saw 15.2mm recorded. The Bureau's recording of 13.2mm (2.0mm recorded against December 1) is the fifth lowest since 1929. 1956 holds the record there with only 5.7mm, and this year's figure (13.2mm) was the lowest since 1962. Other locations around Sydney, especially in the west, saw greater monthly totals due to isolated storm activity. Sydney Olympic Park recorded 38.0mm while Penrith saw 40.0mm, 30.0mm of which came in the 24 hours to 9am on the 6th.

There were only seven days of rain. The 16th was the wettest day, but only 5.8mm fell then. In 2014, only January and July have had a wettest day of the month drier than that. November 6 to 15 saw no rain and that 10 day period was the longest dry streak. It was also the longest dry streak since the 22 day run from late June into early August. There were two occurrences of two consecutive rain days, November 1 and 2 and the 24th and 25th. They only accounted for 1.2mm and 2.4mm respectively though.

Winds were down on last year's figures once again. The average maximum daily wind gust for November 2014 at the Airport was 52.4km/h and there were six days with a maximum gust above 60km/h. This is compared to 53.9km/h and nine days last year.

The strongest gust of the month, however, was stronger. The 16th recorded a maximum gust at 85km/h from the west. Two days earlier, a south-southwesterly gust at 83km/h was also measured. November 2013's strongest gust was 78km/h. The calmest day was the 24th when the strongest gust was only 35km/h from the east.

November 2014 Review - Jyväskylä

Jyväskylä experienced a cooler November in 2014 compared to some recent years, but figures were still above the long term average. Large portions of the month were spent hovering just above or below zero and it saw only a few minimums below -5C. Other than November 1 and 30, there was no sign of sunshine, but even with the increased cloud cover, precipitation was slightly below average.

The average minimums and maximums for November since 2008 are shown below.

November averages at Jyväskylä Airport for the period 2008-2014

November 2010 is clearly different from other Novembers since 2008. For reference, the overall average from 2010 was 2.5C below the 1981-2010 average of -2.0C. The Finnish Meteorological Institute reported that the average for November 2014 in Jyväskylä was 0.1C, 1C less than last year's 1.1C. 2014 is the fourth consecutive year with an average more than 2C above the long term figure. In fact, 2010 is the only year to record a below average figure since 2005. 2014 was, however, cooler than 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2013.

The highest temperature of the month came on both November 3 and 4. Warm and wet conditions saw 9.7C recorded either side of midnight on both days. This was the third highest temperature seen in a November since at least 2008. The first two days of November 2011 saw highs of 10.5C and 10.6C. The figures from other years sit between 7.2C and 7.9C.

November 3 also saw the highest minimum with 8.3C. Along with November 4's low of 7.4C, these were warmer than any minimum seen during a November since 2008. 2011 was the only other year to see a highest minimum that wasn't 5C or below.

As Jyväskylä headed into winter, it was strange to see that the first day of the month was responsible for the coldest temperature. It dipped to -9.5C then. Every November since at least 2008 recorded a minimum below -10C. Even the past October saw three minimums below the mark. The coldest day did come later in the month though. The 21st saw a top of -3.9C. This was still rather warm compared to other years though. Only the coldest November days from 2009 and 2013 were warmer.

As the graph below shows, temperatures fluctuated very little in the second half of the month. So while there were 22 days with a minimum below 0C, the second highest such figure since 2008, there were very few really cold minimums. There were only five minimums below -5C. Only 2012 saw fewer. On the other hand, the number of days that failed to top zero, 12, was also the second highest in the past seven years.

Daily minimums and maximums against rainfall at Jyväskylä Airport for November 2014

Cloud dominated the month (there was less than eight hours of sunshine), but the 50.6mm monthly total was below the 1981-2010 average of 54mm. FMI recorded 43mm for Jyväskylä, compared to 75mm last year. Most of the precipitation fell as rain or wet snow, but there were a few days with proper snow, especially earlier in the month. November 7 recorded a snow depth of around 8cm. The depth never went above 10cm though.

There were 17 days on which falls were recorded at Tikkakoski. November 4 and 11, with totals of 10.1mm and 10.2mm respectively, were the wettest days and accounted for 40% of the monthly total. The highest consecutive number of rain days was seven, from the 9th to the 15th, and accounted for 17.0mm. The following six day period to the 21st was the longest dry streak.

The month ended fairly warm. If we try to compare November 2014 to one from the previous six years, the closest would be either 2008 or 2012. The mildness of November 2008 carried on into December, but 2012 saw temperatures drop fairly dramatically around the turn of the month. What will happen in December this time?

November ends with sun in Jyväskylä, unsettled weather in Sydney

The sun still exists! It was finally sighted once again in Jyväskylä during the weekend. Yesterday was the first day that the sun shone in just over four weeks. Funnily enough, the first and last days of November were the only days of the month on which Jyväskylä was bathed in sunshine.

If people in Central Finland had been thinking it was a cloudy and grey November, they were right. As this YLE article points out, Jyväskylä saw just under eight hours of sun, less than a third of the average sunlight hours for November. Helsinki was also well below average, but in the north, Sodankylä experienced an above average amount with 23 hours.

The clear skies dropped temperatures in Jyväskylä to -4.0C yesterday morning. That was the coldest temperature seen in a week and interrupted a run of four consecutive days at or above zero. November 27, 28 and 29 all saw very similar maximums; 2.0C, 1.9C and 1.8C respectively. It wasn't until Saturday evening that the temperature dipped closer to zero. The final three days of the month remained dry also.

The start of December doesn't look to be very good weatherwise. Temperatures will hover around zero in Jyväskylä, possibly climbing over 3C on Wednesday and Thursday, and minimums currently aren't expected to drop below -3C for the coming 10 days.

The last day of November saw blue sky in Jyväskylä for the first time since November 1

Frost also accompanied the sun

Unsettled conditions are being experienced in Sydney at the moment. A series of low pressure troughs developed across the country during Thursday and Friday last week and have been moving east over the weekend. As is typical with low pressure troughs, storms and showers have been associated with their eastward movement.

Sydney Airport saw 2.0mm during the evening of November 30 as storms passed through the city. Locations in the west saw more intense falls. Richmond and Camden recorded 18.2mm and 17.6mm respectively.

The last parts of this evening's storm are currently moving through the city. No rain fell before midnight at the Airport, but 4.8mm had been recorded by 4:30am on December 2. Interior parts of Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory are seeing very large storm fronts with lightning and rain also as these troughs head east.

More falls are likely in the coming days in Sydney as warm and moist air crosses New South Wales. Forecasts predict similar conditions to those seen yesterday and today, with daily maximums just below 30C for the next four days. The threat of afternoon and evening storms and rain is also clear. In fact, while the coming weekend looks to be a little cooler, down to 25C, the next seven days each show at least a 60% chance of rain.