A cyclone-like system heading for the south coast is likely to produce “choppy seas and a pretty horrible 48 hours of weather” according to independent weather man Dennis Luke.
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“Some parts of ex-tropical cyclone Owen will find their way down and join up with another system,” Mr Luke said.
It will mean high winds, storms and unpredictable amounts of rain with the system intensifying from Thursday and going into Friday and Saturday.
“It will be feeding off the warm water in the Tasman Sea and that will help to keep it going. I’m calling it a tropical depression,” he said.
He said because of the clockwise nature of the system rainfall would be varied.
“Some places will get 5-10mm but others may get 50mm or even more. Make sure boats are moored securely,” Mr Luke warned.
According to Mr Luke if you are having a Christmas barbecue, you may need some contingency plans to take the party undercover.
Looking ahead he believes the forecast for Christmas, while not as bad, will bring some showers and thunder storms. He forecasts temperatures around 22 for Merimbula on Christmas Eve, 21 on Christmas Day and 20 on Boxing Day with showers and possible storms on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day are expected to be 20 degrees maximum.
He also thinks it could be a difficult Sydney to Hobart race with possible storms in Sydney on Boxing Day at the start.
“On the morning of the race the winds will be mostly from the east to south east at about 7-10 knots.
“However the weather will shift as the yachts head further south where cold fronts with rain arrive with 30 plus knot winds from all directions. I’m expecting really bad conditions,” Mr Luke warned.
For anyone with an interest in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne it is expected to be mostly sunny with a maximum of 23 degrees, with cooler windy conditions from the south around 20-35kph or 10-15 knots.
