Ahh, Ballarat you malicious beast!
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Our city is headed for what could be the coldest start to summer on record with the mercury tipped to go no higher than 11 degrees on Sunday, as yet another cold front blows through from the south.
And should we happen to fail to get above 10.9 degrees, December 1 will actually be the coldest December day in over 100 years of records.
It follows on from a much cooler November. With only three days left in the month before summer 'officially' arrives, Ballarat's monthly temperature has averaged 19 degrees, down from the long-term average of 19.8 degrees.
Throughout the month we have seen 10 days where the mercury was at least five degrees below average with the coldest day topping out at just 10.8 degrees on November 9.
We've seen six days where the temperature has been five degrees above average, but only once have we tipped into the 30s, when fierce winds started numerous blazes on November 21. On that day Ballarat recorded a top of 35.3 degrees.
In fact if it wasn't for that two day period where we also reached a top of 29 on November 20, this month would have come close to being the coldest November on record.
Rainfall has also exceeded expectations for just the third time this year, with another 5-10mm potentially on the way before the month is out. This month we've seen 60.6mm of rain, up on the monthly average of 55.5mm.
For the record, the all-time coldest December day came in 2013, when December 5 reached just 10.9 degrees, 12 degrees below the long term average of 22.8 degrees.
And the warmth isn't exactly coming back anytime soon with temperatures to fail to rise above the low teens until at least Wednesday, but even then, we are only looking at 16 degrees for a top.
For music fans heading to the Spilt Milk festival on Saturday, bring a poncho but gum boots probably won't be necessary.
Dress for a top of 15 degrees. There is a 70 per cent chance we will see 1-5mm of rain with winds generally from the south gusting to 25km/h.
But the cold won't just hit Ballarat, In Melbourne, if the temperature fails to reach 15 degrees on Sunday, it will be the city's coldest start to December in its 164 year history of records.
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