If you had to pick one Australian capital city where you really should have taken your Monday lunch out to a park bench, our vote goes to Adelaide.

At noon local time, temps were hovering around 24°C in most suburbs, with the potential for at least another degree or two of warming as the afternoon progresses.

Winds were a little blustery with gusts up to 48 km/h at the airport, but there has been no bite whatsoever to the wind today in the warm, steady northerly flow.

Exquisite weather in Adelaide pic.twitter.com/10jIbIll7L

— Prof Jo Kiddo Arciuli (@JArciuli) May 22, 2021

• Because the high high cloud around town didn't thicken too much, temps topped 25° around 1 pm, making this the warmest day in the South Australian Capital since May 1, when the maximum reached 29.1°.
• The current unseasonably warm spell kicked off on Friday, and temps over the last three days have reached 24.9°C, 23.7°C and 24.8°C respectively.

Image: Safe to say the water under Glenelg Jetty won't look so enticing on Tuesay. Source: Pixabay.

But things are about to change...

A strong cold front and associated cloud band is relentlessly marching eastwards from Western Australia. As we told you this morning, Perth is on track for its lowest max for nine months of just 16°C, and small hail has fallen in some parts.

• The front should arrive in Adelaide on Tuesday morning, delivering around 10mm of rain and potentially more.
• This will make a welcome change to what has been a relatively dry May in Adelaide so far, with just 21.8 mm in the gauge at West Terrace.
• The average monthly rainfall for May is 68 mm.

Top temps should peak at around 19°C on Tuesday, cooling down to a top of just 17°C on Wednesday in the cold, drier air behind the front. Maximums should then stay below 20°C for the rest of the week.

Enjoy the warmth while you can, Adelaide, because you likely won't see the mid-twenties again for several months.