Several May temperature records have been broken with a winter blast hitting southern Queensland overnight.

Applethorpe, Oakey and Dalby have all had their coldest May mornings on record.

The temperature plummeted to -6.1 in Applethorpe, –2.1 degrees below its previous record 13 years ago.

Oakey near Toowoomba dropped to -4.4, which was 0.3 of a degree cooler than its previous record in 2006.

Dalby on the Western Downs had its coldest morning since 1911, recording -3.6.

Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Gabriel Branescu said it was milder in the state's south-east.

"In Brisbane, while it was 8 degrees this morning, with the chill factor it felt like less than five degrees," he said.

"The feel like temperature at the airport in Brisbane was -1.

"Tomorrow will be another chilly day with temperatures not too far from records, but we jump into June so we will probably not see records like today."

The town of Killarney hit -4.9C ( Supplied: Bob Bell )

Stephen Michalski from Diamondvale Cottages said it was the kind of temperature usually seen on his property in July, not May.

"We got down to -11 overnight along the creek here," Mr Michalski said.

"We've got a digital thermometer on the roof of our house so it's probably a degree or two colder on ground level.

"I knew last night when I went to bed about 10pm that it was going to be cold, as it was already -5."

Stanthorpe's big thermometer hit minus 6.1 degrees. ( Supplied: Southern Downs Regional Council )

He said Quartpot Creek, which runs through his property, was frozen solid.

"I dragged myself out of bed this morning to go and have a quick look at the creek, because I thought there was a chance it was going to freeze over.

"[I] got down there and there were quite a few birds along the banks of the creek unable to get water.

"There were rosellas and a lot of our native wildlife that were struggling with the ice to get their morning drink.

"Our horse water, our chicken water, that was all frozen."

Taya Michalski said it was exciting to see the layer of ice across the top.

"It was just under a centimetre. I wouldn't go walking on it, but enough when you throw rocks that they slide and skip over and make that crackle sound," she said.

"You can feel the crunch and hear the crunch and the tips of your fingers start to go numb really, really quickly."



It was a frosty start for Tiana Morriss who captured this photo at Ivanhoe Spelling and Agistment in Westbrook, near Toowoomba. ( Tiana Morriss )

Locals on the streets of Toowoomba also braced for frosty conditions, with Janita Stevens saying the school drop off was hard.

"It was a bit cold on my fingers when I was hanging out the washing," she said.

"They [the kids] are rugging up. They are feeling it. It was a bit of a struggle getting the teenagers out of bed this morning."

Bella, 6, and Lachlan, 7, rug up on a chilly Brisbane morning. ( ABC News: Curtis Rodda )

Parent Mark Milton said he was from England and didn't mind so much.

"I don't think it is cold yet. Kids don't really feel it. I am the one that is telling them to put the jumper on and wrap up warm. We rode the bikes yesterday and they loved it," he said.

"We light the fire so we are out chopping wood and get inside and get cosy. We look forward to it so we can get around the fire and roast marshmallows."

