Australia Weather News

Some of Queensland's coastal towns shivered through their coldest May day in more than a hundred years on Saturday, figures from the Bureau of Meteorology show.

Mackay smashed the record for its coldest May day in 113 years with 15.6 degrees Celsius.

Charters Towers, 11.5C, and Gayndah, 14C, had their coldest in 127 years.

Bundaberg, with 13.2C, had its coldest May day in 129 years.

Meanwhile, Brisbane CBD's main shopping precinct, the Queen Street Mall, was also a sea of scarves and beanies on Saturday, as the city shivered through its coldest May day in almost a century.

The weather bureau said the icy conditions resulted from a cold blast of air blowing in from the southern states, combined with cloudy skies keeping sunshine out.

While Brisbane dipped to an unremarkable 11C, the maximum temperature of just 15C made it the coldest May day since 1922.

Temperatures right along the Queensland coast were well below the May average on Saturday.

Rockhampton and Gladstone only reached a top of 12C, Townsville 14C and Toowoomba 11C.

There were also rainfalls of between 20 and 50 millimetres through central Queensland and the tropical interior.

Brittany Muntelwit, who lives near Capella, in the central highlands, took a stunning photo from her veranda after the skies cleared.

She said the thermometer in her car read 10C.

"But it feels so much colder," she said.

Blackall and Windorah had their coldest May days on record on Friday.

Cold snap a treat for Queenslanders

Monica White said the cold snap that hit Mackay reminded her of when she lived in Victoria.

"We did some baking and made some beautiful warm soup," Ms White said.

"I just wanted to light the fire and stand by that but, up here, there's obviously no [fireplaces].

"It was lovely to have a break from the Sun."

For Rebecca Young, it was a surprise to get her jumpers and jackets out of the wardrobe.

"I think it's actually quite a treat having colder weather," she said.

"When we do have it, it's quite nice — we enjoy it a bit more."

Marilyn Simpson, who owns the pub at Windorah, said she and her family felt the chill, including their pets.

"Not normally until July, August do you need this many woollies," she said.

"The dogs had to come in and so did the bird. Everyone else was using their heaters."

The weather bureau expects the cloud and showers to clear off the coast today, so it will not be quite as cold.

Morning frosts are still expected on the Granite Belt, Darling Downs and Burnett.