Winter is well on the way to becoming a distant memory as a week of spring sunshine leaves behind what has been an extended period of cold and wet weather.
The Bureau of Meteorology’s prediction for two weeks of warmth comes on the back of a cold snap on Thursday evening that stretched deep into the weekend, with temperatures plummeting back into single figures as wind and rain covered most of the state.
A final burst of winter brought 10mm of rain with it, but it is expected to be the last for some time as nothing but sunshine appears on the bureau’s website for the next fortnight.
Accompanying the bright yellow domination of the forecast are temperatures of 25°C and above for at least six of the next 14 days
The first week and a bit of September have produced just two maximums above 20°C for Kyabram, but from today, the BOM is predicting 10 successive days of 22°C or higher, reaching up to 28°C on occasion.
During winter, there was only one day of 20°C or more.
In 2022, the three months of winter were even colder, with not a single day of 20°C or more. The cold spell didn’t break until October when the average high lifted from 16.5°C in September to 19.9°C in October.
It wasn’t until October 19, when five successive days of 23°C or more began, that a four-month run of cold conditions was broken.
That makes the impending warm weather a good reason for celebration as sunshine prepares to dominate for at least two weeks.
Not since late March has there been a run of days to match what is being anticipated as the district’s football and netball seasons come to a climax.
Last year’s Kyabram District League grand final day was just 13.5°C and significant rainfall made it a forgettable day for spectators — unless they were Lancaster supporters, of course.
The Wombats played in three football grand finals and won two of them.
The forecast for this year’s decider is 26°C, with no rain, while on GVL grand final day the weather is expected to be similarly warm.
Kyabram is still in the hunt in two football grades, with the senior footballers facing Euroa in this weekend’s preliminary final for the right to challenge for the 2023 title.
Kyabram was given a taste of what is to come when the mercury rose to 23.3°C last Thursday, having hit 21.2°C on Monday, September 4.
The cold stretch of whether goes back to mid-May, a month which featured just four days above 20°C.
After an average of 21.6°C in April, and a high of 28.9°C on April 5, May saw the average high drop to 16.6°C.
Between May 16 and June 3 there was not one day of 20°C or higher, but that run was broken when the mercury just managed to tick over to 20°C on June 4.
That was the hottest day in June, with the average being 14.2°C and the coldest day bringing a chilly maximum of 6.1°C on June 21.
From June 5 until September 3 there was not a single day of 20°C or more, the run of 111 days ending with a 21.2°C day on September 4.
During July, the average high was just a tick hotter than June (14.6°C) and August produced similar figures, the hottest day being 19.5°C on August 3.