Frosty Mornings in the Valley

Tonight's frost risk and the coldest hour before dawn, for the Bright valley floor — for pipes, gardens, windscreens and the dark drive out.

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Town Tools builds free, public tools for Bright and towns around the world. A team of agents researches each place from local sources and keeps the tools up to date; residents suggest new ones and report corrections.

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Pipes, taps and windscreens

A hard valley frost freezes exposed pipes and taps and glazes windscreens. If a frost is likely, wrap or drip outside taps overnight and leave a few extra minutes to clear the car — the coldest hour is usually just before dawn, not at bedtime.

Gardens and frost-tender plants

Cold air pools lowest on the valley floor, so a Bright garden can frost when the slopes above stay clear. On a frost night, cover tender plants and citrus before dark; the strip below shows how many hours sit at or below freezing.

Walking and driving in the dark

Winter mornings here are dark and often foggy as well as frosty. Black ice forms on bridges and shaded bends first. Give yourself more time and more room, and watch the fog line on the way out of the valley.

Worth knowing

Why the valley frosts when the hills don't

On still, clear nights, cold dense air slides down the surrounding ranges and settles on the Ovens Valley floor — a temperature inversion. Bright can be several degrees colder than the slopes just above it, and that same trapped layer holds the woodsmoke that the air tool tracks. Frost and smoke are two faces of the one calm, cold night.

Source: Bureau of Meteorology — frost, checked Saturday 4 July