Bureau of Meteorology says an 'icy blanket' is on the way for Queensland bringing sub-zero temperatures
Frost, like this seen in 2018, is forecast to affect parts of the state. 9news
Queenslanders are in for a chilly end to the month with a rare 'icy blanket' cold front forecast to sweep across the state later this week.
The Bureau of Meteorology says the southwest of the state will see the minimum temperature drop to single digits on Thursday.
The temperature will plummet in the Darling Downs and southeast corner on Friday before a 10-degree drop is felt as far north as Townsville on Saturday.
The cold front will start to sweep across the state from Thursday. Bureau of Meteorology
BOM Meteorologist Peter Markworth said the southeast would experience minimum temperatures six to 10 degrees below average on Saturday for this time of year.
"Depending where in the state you are a trough will move through either Thursday or Friday and bring colder air behind it," he told 9News.
"Generally, we are expecting Saturday to be the coldest day across the state.
"Particularly down in the southeast around the Darling Downs where temperatures could get near or even sub-zero in the morning.
"The rest of the state could see minimums in the single digits or at least as you get closer to the coast a bit further north, into the low teens."
Mr Markworth said it was a "pretty rare" weather occurrence this time of year but at this stage there were no records likely to be broken.
"With those temperatures getting so low particularly through the southeast it does mean that frost is a very likely possibility," he said.
"It will appear as a typical kind of winter's day, this is typical average temperatures of what we would usually see in July.
"It's pretty rare for it to be this significant but it's not unheard of."
Weatherzone forecasters have described the system as "unusually strong for this early in autumn".
However, Mr Markworth said Queenslanders shouldn't expect to keep their heaters out of the cupboard for too long, with warmer temperatures likely to return early next week.
"(Winter) won't just happen in one go, we'll see this colder air arrive, we'll start to warm up again and that will be followed again by a cold surge which will then warm up again," he said.
"It's just one of many cold surges that will cool the state down."
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