Winter finally bites: Three cities record coldest temperatures of 2026

Millions woke up on Monday wishing they had grabbed an extra blanket overnight as three cities shivered through their coldest temperatures of the year so far.

Adelaide, Hobart and Launceston all recorded their lowest readings of 2026 on Monday morning as cold air swept across southern Australia following a weekend cold front.

Adelaide dipped to 3.5 degrees early on Monday, beating Sunday’s low of 4, which had already marked its frostiest June night in two years.

The chilly start came after a weekend that delivered Adelaide’s coldest daytime temperatures of the year, a stark change from the mild conditions that have spanned much of southern Australia.

In Tasmania, Hobart woke to 3.2 degrees at 7.43am, its first morning below 4 degrees this year.

Further north, Launceston dropped to -0.8 degrees, making it the coldest of the city’s three sub-zero mornings recorded so far in 2026.

The colder conditions extended well beyond the major centres.

Launceston Airport dropped to a freezing -2.8 degrees, but Liawenee on the Central Plateau took out the state’s iciest spot at -5.1.

On the mainland, the lowest temperature was recorded at Glen Innes on the NSW Northern Tablelands, where the mercury fell to -3.0 degrees shortly before 7am.

Despite sitting only about 100 kilometres south of the Queensland border, Glen Innes is known for bitter winter mornings thanks to its elevation of more than 1000 metres and its valley location.

The town recorded Australia’s coldest temperature in 2023 when the mercury nosedived to -10.8 degrees.

Thanks to some light cloud cover, alpine temperatures in NSW and Victoria were held to just below -2 degrees.

The cold snap follows a fortnight of unusually balmy weather across much of southern Australia. Adelaide and Melbourne both enjoyed several days above 20 degrees, a far cry from what is normally expected in June.

Forecasters say this week’s temperatures will be much closer to winter averages, even if conditions aren’t expected to become exceptionally cold.

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Warm start to winter across south-east Australia explained

The weekend cold front wasn’t particularly powerful, but it delivered enough cooler air to put an end to the run of unseasonably warm weather.

A large high-pressure system is now settling over much of the country, bringing stable conditions and plenty of sunshine through the middle of the week.

That pattern is tipped to remain in place until another cold front approaches southwest Western Australia late on Thursday and into Friday.