No sign of summer for south eastern parts of Australia by Kaye Forster
Australia is just two weeks away from the start of the summer but it appears that the weather is slightly confused. Snow has been reported along the border of Queensland and New South Wales, which is very unusual for this time of year.
The snow fell for just 15 minutes but left a light dusting on cars and other surfaces, and left residents in the area shocked. Many said that they had never before seen snow fall so late on in the season.
Southerly winds from the South Pole brought a sharp transition between the cooler air to the south of the region and the warmer air to the north. The boundary between the two caused the warmer air to rise and form rain clouds. However, in some areas, the air was just cold enough for the rain to fall as snow.
The Bureau of Meteorology has stated that this is the first snowfall to have been reported so late in the season since 1941.
Sydney has also been subjected to the cold blast. The city recorded its lowest November temperature in more than a century. On Wednesday night the temperature dropped to 8.3C (46F), well below the average minimum temperature of 16C (61F). In fact the maximum (daytime) temperature was only expected to reach 15C (59F) during Thursday, again well below the average maximum of 23C (73F).
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