why the weather has suddenly gone troppo THE weather has gone...

why the weather has suddenly gone troppo THE weather has gone haywire in southeast Queensland and northern NSW, where unusually warm winter nights, unseasonably heavy rain, storms, floods, gales and high seas have been caused by a freak influx of tropical air from New Caledonia.

In Brisbane, after a cold snap last week with temperatures as low as 5C and an extremely rare blast of sleet in the western suburbs, residents threw off their blankets early yesterday morning when the minimum temperature was recorded at a balmy 16C, five degrees above average.

Ballina and Byron Bay, in northern NSW, also enjoyed 16C minimums yesterday.

The freakish weather caused traffic chaos in Brisbane, storm damage on the Gold Coast and minor flooding near Murwillumbah, in northern NSW.

Jeff Callaghan, senior meteorologist with the Bureau of Meteorology in Brisbane, said the unusual weather was caused by warm, moist tropical air moving to the east coast from New Caledonia. The low-pressure system, known as a severe East Coast Low, last occurred in southeast Queensland in 1996. "These events usually produce wild seas and a lot of rain."