Crisp mornings forecast for southern Qld as temperatures dip

As Queenslanders brace for cooler temperatures this week, farmers on the Granite Belt are welcoming single digits to ensure their crops are thriving come harvest time.

Pozieres farmer David McMahon said his apple and pear crops, about 200 kilometres west of Brisbane near the Queensland border, needed about 800 hours of temperatures below 8 degrees Celsius in winter to ensure a good harvest.

Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Felim Hanniffy said the good news for farmers like Mr McMahon was temperatures as low as 1C or 2C were forecast for the Granite Belt and the Carnarvon area today.

Mr Hanniffy said patchy frost could develop before temperatures hit a top of 16C for Stanthorpe later in the day.

Oakey, north of Toowoomba, was a chilly -0.5C this morning.

"We still have some cool mornings to come during Wednesday and Thursday through parts of the particularly the southern interior," he said.

"In fact, most areas are going to see temperatures generally near or above average in terms of those overnight minimums for the rest of this week as well."

Brisbane is forecast to reach 22C today, while Rockhampton will hit 24C and Cairns will peak at 25C.

Mr Hanniffy said the bureau was also monitoring a system that could move across parts of New South Wales and the south-eastern states into early next week, bringing colder mornings for southern Queensland.

'Very uncharacteristic' mild winter

Mr McMahon said he would welcome cooler weather after a "very mild" start to winter.

"By this time of the year we'd be expecting a lot more heavy frosts and extended periods of cold weather,"

he said.

"It's very important that we get [those chill hours] that just triggers [apples, pears and blackberries] back into their cycle into next year.

"We'll be pretty hopeful that that's still going to happen naturally and we'll go ahead normally. It has been a slow start to the winter."

But in Toowoomba, where temperatures are set to reach 17C today, residents Theresa Hussey and Niki Holmes are making sure they keep warm while enjoying the sunshine.

Ms Holmes, who moved to the region from the Gold Coast a year ago, is still getting used to remembering to pack her warmer coat.

"I wish I had a beanie like Theresa, it's freezing," Ms Holmes said.

'Blustery' conditions for remaining school holidays

Elsewhere around the state, Mr Hanniffy said blustery southerly and south-easterly winds would push coastal showers onshore on Tuesday.

"That's going to drive showers … along the coastal fringe as well and the showers will be most frequent up along the north tropical coast," he said.

Localised falls of up to 20 to 40 millimetres could also occur, including along the central coast.

Mr Hanniffy said there was a chance of some lingering cloud and the chance of patchy showers further west as a trough system developed west of Birdsville.

But he said dry conditions were expected in most of the state's interior today and tomorrow "before another round of showers pushing in towards parts of western Queensland from Thursday".

A marine wind warning continues today for most of the state.

Hazardous surf conditions were also expected to continue for waters between K'gari and the Sunshine and Gold coasts today and potentially Wednesday.

"Given that we are in school holidays, if anybody's thinking of heading to the south-east coast over the next day or two, just keep an eye out that there will be some hazardous surf around," Mr Hanniffy said.