Monday night’s spectacular sunset (above, in Richmond) may be part of the weather pattern the Sydney region is experiencing at the moment.
Weatherzone meteorologist Rob Sharpe said this month was set to be the second-driest July in the past 20 years, and that maximum temperatures had also been higher than usual.
There have been above average temperatures over the past two months, with only a few days of patchy rain. ‘‘Winter will mainly be dry from here on and it will be a while before any more rain sets in,’’ he said.
However the minimum temperature this month has been two degrees below average, mainly due to the strong cold fronts and westerly winds.
‘‘July has seen nine days of below-freezing nights, with strong fronts set to come through in August, plummeting morning temperatures,’’ Mr Sharpe said.
The end of July has however been quite warm and in the next week Hawkesbury will see dry westerly winds raise the temperature to the high teens during the day, possibly even to the low 20s.
Although many are happy with the weather conditions, farmers have been suffering. ‘‘Over the past few months, farmers have been challenged with rain staying away and likely to continue to stay away,’’ Mr Sharpe said.
The dry conditions will also cause a much greater fire risk as we move into spring, similar to the conditions which caused the bushfires last October.
