Australia Weather News

As school students return to the classroom from today, most of Queensland is being warned to brace for another week of widespread frost and chilly conditions.

Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Dean Narramore said cold starts and sunny days were the outlook across the state.

"For those heading back to school, getting out and about in the morning for the bus or getting into school or whatever, it's going to be another chilly one," he said.

"We're also going to see another round of widespread frost from the south-east coast, Darling Downs, Maranoa and Warrego, possibly even into the central western highlands, Coalfields and Wide Bay.

"So large parts of the state are going to see another cold, frosty morning, but it will then be a bright, sunny day not only there but right across the state on Monday."

Below-zero temperatures

Temperatures plummeted below zero around the Darling Downs and Granite Belt, as well as the Maranoa and Warrego, over the weekend.

On Monday morning, residents in Oakey woke to an icy -3.5 degrees Celsius.

"We saw temperatures around -3C through places like Oakey, Applethorpe, and Stanthorpe -2C, Roma -2C, Miles -2C and Warwick as well," Mr Narramore said.

"That will be the focus again on Monday and even again into Tuesday morning as well; they'll be the kind of areas that will have the coldest temperatures.

"But single figures extending well north as well, even up into Mount Isa, Flinders Highway even up through there, we're going to see temperatures get down into the low single figures as well."

The weather bureau said the cold snap was due to a large high-pressure system lingering over much of the country that was bringing a cool and frosty start to the day.

Maximum forecast temperatures for the week range in the low to mid-20s for southern parts of the state, while northern areas and the far west will see high 20s to low 30s.

"It's typical winter weather for this time of the year and it's the story statewide for much of the week," Mr Narramore said.

However, Mr Narramore warned that winds would pick up by week's end, as well as the chances of shower activity.

"As we move into Friday and into the weekend, we're going to see those winds tend a little bit more onshore," he said.

"This means we could start to see cloud and showers developing through eastern and south-eastern Queensland on Friday afternoon and [they] probably could be more widespread on Saturday, just in time for the weekend.

"So cold mornings but a sunny week for much of the state Monday through to Thursday, then we could see some cloud and showers returning and warmer nights Friday and into the weekend."