Jacob, 6, and Zac Ward, 8, rug up.
KATHERINE residents longed for jumpers, boots and beanies when temperatures dropped to 12.5C degrees on Friday - the coldest April morning on record in the past four years.
Bureau of Meteorology Climate Services manager Joel Lisonbee said the cold spell that saw temperatures drop below 20C degrees on five consecutive days had been triggered by a shift in winds.
“Our weather is coming from the south-east at the moment and winds from the south bring cold air to the Katherine region and the rest of the Northern Territory,” Mr Lisonbee said.
The climatologist said the coldest April day on record is April 13, 1994 when temperatures dropped to 9.8C degrees - less than three degrees below Friday’s temperatures.
“Katherine is experiencing a significant cold spell at the moment,” Mr Lisonbee said.
The cold weather not only left Katherine locals long for warm clothes, but caught new Katherinites by surprise.
When Sarah Ward, 30, and her family moved to Katherine in October they only knew about the “hot and steamy” weather. “We left all our warm clothes in Adelaide - but now the weather feels a bit like being down south,” Ms Ward said.
She said her two sons, Jacob, 6, and Zac, 8, wouldn’t mind to put on warm jackets to go to school in the morning.
“They like the cold weather - but probably that’s because we get the fire going in the back yard and they get to toast marshmallows,” Ms Ward said.