It chilled to 2.7 degrees in Melbourne at about sunrise yesterday, the coldest it’s been in the city since 2008. Very cold but still a long way short of the record of -2.8, set in July 1869.

Yesterday morning, frost covered lawns in some outlying suburbs, dipping to -0.5 in Essendon and 0.3 in Laverton, about six degrees below average for this time of year.

It was much colder further inland, where skies were even clearer and air even drier and calmer.

One of the coldest places in the state was Lookout Hill which plummeted to minus six degrees.

Severe frost affected many areas, including the Mallee, where Hopetoun chilled to minus five degrees, their coldest in five years. Swan Hill had its coldest morning in four years with a low of minus two, six below average.

The good news for those who don’t cope well with this sort of cold, is for warmer nights and mornings ahead.

Both wind and cloud is increasing which will allow the air to mix up enough for nights to retain some of the warmth from the previous day.

Melbourne is likely to get no colder than seven degrees tonight and tomorrow morning. However, there is still likely to be some frost inland, especially in the northeast of the state.

– Weatherzone