Queensland Snow
An account of Queensland Snowfalls From 1878
by
Nicholas Oughton
Updated: 10th March 2019
Strictly speaking, it should not snow in sub-tropical Queensland, but it
does, and perhaps more often than you would think! When the
chill thrill calls, many Queenslanders head for the snowline.
These pages provide a history of Queensland snowfall; descriptions of
the most dramatic events; how to predict a snow event and; where snow is most
likely to be found in South-East Queensland. It’s a do-it-yourself guide to
predicting, finding and enjoying the wonder of Queensland snow.
Welcome to snowy Queensland. Wallangarra in the early morning of 17 July, 2015.
The Romance of Snow
He who has seen the eternal
snows,
Noonday white and evening
rose,
Though he descends down into
the plain,
Never is the same again,
And in the mind and dirt and
sweat,
Cannot lose, cannot forget,
The radiance of the eternal
snows,
Noonday white and evening
rose.
(Anonymous)
Check out these pages also…
Additional
stories can be found here:
A personal account of the 1984 snow event
A snow chaser’s guide to finding snow in Queensland
Snowfall records for Queensland from 1878
Some unusual Queensland snow events
Building a Snowman, Girraween
National Park, Queensland, 4th July 1984.
Photo courtesy of Ulrike and Siegfried Manietta
‘Job done’ Girraween
National Park, Queensland, 4th July 1984.
Photo courtesy of Ulrike and Siegfried Manietta
For many children,
the excitement of freshly fallen snow and the magical transformation it makes
of a familiar world is seldom forgotten.
For those who have never seen snow, stories of: white Christmases; Artic
adventure; the conquest of high mountains; winter holidays in exotic countries;
and fairy tales set in unfamiliar snow bound countries infuse a powerful
mythology –
one that lasts into adult
life.
For those who
don’t live among the eternal snows, but where snow is more rarely experienced
such as South-East Queensland, winter snowfall provides a diversion from the
humdrum regularity of everyday life – a period of imaginative escape – a remnant of childhood dreams and
fantasies. Unusual falls of snow can transform people, making them more
gregarious, good humored and generous of spirit. When it snows in Queensland,
many folk pack up their cars with warm cloths, children and excitement, and
head for the Queensland snow line.
Above the Queensland snow line. Snowman and
friends at Wallangarra 17th July, 2015
Snow in South-East Queensland
Historically speaking, snowfall is not rare in South East Queensland
having occurred, on average, a little more than once per year over the past 141
years. However, several years may pass without snow falling somewhere in
Queensland.
Interestingly, The Queenslander
magazine of the 6th November 1895 noted that: ‘Snow is unknown in
Queensland, except at the Stanthorpe Highlands, and
very rarely falls even there’. The facts are, however, that snow has fallen as
far North as the Clark Ranges near Mackay, as far West as Texas and can hardly
be described as a rare event on Queensland’s Granite Belt. Snow has even been
observed falling in Brisbane. According to the ‘Argus’ News
Paper of Tuesday 8th August 1982.
The
reported fall of snow in Brisbane has been confirmed by many persons who
witnessed it. The snow was most noticeable in Woolloongabba,
but in Stanley Street, South Brisbane, it was sufficiently heavy to allow of
people wiping it from their clothing...It is said that snow fell in this city
35 years ago. At Toowoomba, the local paper says, on the same date,
"towards 12 o'clock, light flaky snow began to flit about, and
these were followed by unmistakable drifting showers of real snow. Spring-hill
road was quite white, as were also the footpaths in some parts of the
town, and we learn that at Clifton-plains about 2in. of snow covered the
ground.
Two Recent Snow Events in in South East Queensland
The Big
Snow, 13th to 17th July 2015
This surprising event commenced on Sunday 13th of July with
snow flurries and sleet at Eukey some 12 kilometres
from Stanthorpe. Local cafe owner Amanda Blair said business had been booming in the
border town since Saturday. "It has been so busy. From 7:30am in the
morning there was a stream of traffic heading south and it was like that all
weekend," said Ms. Blair. "As soon as people hear about snow they
head to the border. "We used to be asked often
about where the snow is, but with Facebook, now the locals don't get asked as
many questions." Snow again fell at Eukey on
Monday the 14th with settling falls just over the Border at Mt
Mackenzie. These events, however, were just teasers for what was to follow.
Observing this exciting event in the late evening of July 16th,
Ken Kato wrote: “At approximately 11:40pm some tufts of cloud started to appear
–
then
within the space of only a few mins – it went from absolutely clear skies to
totally overcast. The first flakes fell at 11:45pm. By midnight, it started to
really come down. By 1am, it was close to blizzard/snowstorm conditions at
times, with wet snow changing to dry powder snow for quite a while. Dry
snowflakes were blowing horizontally with gusts of wind roaring through the
trees and making the power lines hum. Visibility was down to around 100m and
snowdrifts began forming,
I almost got bogged in deep snow near Eukey in an
area with no mobile phone reception so I thought I might have to flag down a
passing motorist. The only thing that saved me was collecting a mass of sticks
and stones to put under my tyres to get just enough grip
to get out. The weight of the snow was also bending many of the branches on
smaller trees right over onto the road itself.
The accumulation rates were approaching those I've experienced during
some of the lower to mid-range Nor’easters in the US. I got bad frostbite despite
wearing boots, socks and gloves due to prolonged exposure to snow and
wind-chill; and having to take gloves off to take pics and video.
Snow on the fence near Eukey
morning of the 17th July 2015. Photo courtesy of Ken Kato
Ken’s snow chasing on the night of 16/17th July reminds us of
precautions we should all take when exposing ourselves to extreme weather
events. I also snow-chased on the Granite Belt with my family
on Friday 17th; arriving at midday after the thaw had set in.
We chose a lovely winery with warm fire to enjoy a delicious lunch imbibing a
lovely locally produced red.
The author, Nicholas Oughton,
17th July 2015 at 2.06pm. Eukey Road west
of Hidden Creek Winery. Photo Sue Pickford
The Great Fall of July 1984
Snow began falling
on The Granite Belt on Tuesday 3rd of July with falls continuing
intermittently till Thursday the 5th. Heavy falls were recorded at
Mount Tully and Eukey (South-East of Stanthorpe) where the snow cover was reported to be 60cm
deep in surrounding areas with 15cm in the town. In Stanthorpe,
the snow was ‘welcomed with sheer delight by most residents’ (Border Post July
5 1984). The snowmen and snowball fights that erupted on every corner of the
town attested to the general euphoria. To the east of the Stanthorpe,
graziers
began moving ewes, and does in lamb into shelter as the snow persisted.
‘Just like a Christmas
scene’ is how stranded Warwick bowler Mrs. Pat Collins described the view from
her Tenterfield motel room as she and five friends
played cards and watched the snow fall (Daily News July 4 1984). The bowlers,
who were visiting Tenterfield to take part in a bowls
tournament, became stranded when snow and ice made the road back into
Queensland dangerous. In Brisbane, it also ‘tried hard to snow’ reported a
spokesman for the weather Bureau. Guests on the 21st floor of
Lennon’s Hotel in the city told how they had seen snow blowing past their
windows. The snow, however, turned to sleet before hitting the Brisbane
streets. The closest settling snow to Brisbane fell on Mount Tambourine and
Mount Glorious, both a one-hour drive from the City.
‘The Pyramids’, Girraween
National Park, viewed across open fields during the
snow even of July 1984. Photo courtesy of Ulrike
and Siegfried Manietta.
An extraordinary lemming like rush to see Queensland’s very own snowfields
began on the Tuesday when hundreds of sightseers headed for the Granite Belt.
The local telephone system became overloaded and broke down as people
endeavored to tell their friend of the great event. To read my personal account of this great
event, go here.
There are ways to
forecast snowfall in Queensland using information from weather maps and chatter
on social Webb sites. For a snow chasers guide to predicting and finding snow
in Southeast Queensland go here.
A
Snow Fall Record for Queensland from 1878
The snowfall
record for Queensland from 1878 to date has been compiled from a number of
sources including the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) Brisbane, newspapers,
observer reports, dated photos and my own records. This record and comments can
be found here.
Are There Cycles in Snow
Years?
An analysis of South-East Queensland
snowfall history from 1878 shows a very loose cycle of approximately 4-5 years
between good and poor snowy winters. This cycle, however, cannot be relied on
in a predictive sense. Sadly, for snow lovers, the snowfall
‘trend line’ (orange) in figure 1 below shows a steady decline snow days from
1.6 to 0.8 falls per-year. On the other hand, snow can fall somewhere in
South-East Queensland at any time between the months of May and November.
A second loose cycle demonstrated by the snowfall data shows a rotation
of approximately 30-years between peak snow periods in South East Queensland.
The most recent of these ‘fuzzy’ cycles should have peaked in the early 1990s,
but did not arrive – global
warming perhaps? The next peak should occur in the early 2020s – if at all.
Figure One
Notes on Figure One
Figure one shows an area graph of the snow days occurring in South East
Queensland, (predominantly the Southern Downs and Granite Belt districts)
during the past 141 years. There have been 161 snow days during this period,
which represents just over one snow day per year. Figure 1 also shows a 3-year moving
average (Blue line) and the 141-year trend line (orange). The trend shows a
decline of about 50 per cent over the period.
Clearly the 50-year period from 1925-1975 was prominent for snow in
South East Queensland realizing 60 per cent of total falls occurring during the
past 141 years. Incidentally, only 80 snow events of 1-4 days occurred over
last 141 years in South East Queensland, thus, there is a 57% chance of a snow
event happening somewhere in SE Queensland. There is no indication that this rate
will improve according to the experience of recent years. There have been two
5-year snowy periods in Southeast Queensland during the past 141-years. These
were 1928-1932 and 1958-1962 (see figure 2). Such circumstances may occur once more, however, global warming will militate against such a
probability.
Despite this gloomy prognosis for snow fans, there is some hope. Peter
Burr (Armidale Weather) suggests that: “With winters becoming milder it seems
unlikely that any further major evets such as 1984 will occur. However, with
the ever-increasing erratic nature of weather systems, nothing can be ruled out
with certainty. With the right conditions occurring during the winter months,
another good heavy snowfall is still possible”. Peter’s prediction came true in
July 2015, with widespread heavy snow, from the Central Tablelands of NSW to
Queensland’s Granite Belt and border ranges.
University of Melbourne climate scientist Professor David Karoly adds that: “Natural variability in the weather is
still very important, so while you have climate change and global warming, that
doesn’t mean that occasions of cold extremes suddenly disappear. It just means
there will be a reduced frequency of these cold extremes and an increased
number of hot extremes. And, that’s what we’ve seen over the last 50 years.”
Figure Two
Notes on Figure two
Figure two shows the number of snow days that occurred in SE Queensland
for each 5-year period from 1878 to 2017. The chart shows that in two 5-year
periods 1928 -1932 and 1958-1962 there was an average of 4-snow days per year
and 2 snow days per year respectively. The periods showing the least frequency,
for example 1993-1997 and 2008-2012 had an average of 0.4 snow days per year.
The recent decline in snowfalls commenced in the early nineteen sixties.
The chart also reveals the fussy 30-year cycle, which failed to deliver
on time in the period 1988-1992 (note the Blue 2-period moving average).
However, will snowy 2015 be a precursor of better things to come? The next peak
should be in 2018-22. Here’s hoping!
The Best Time to see Snow and
Sleet in S.E. Queensland
Figure three shows that the best opportunity to observe snow or sleet
falling in SE Queensland is in the 20-day period (periods 9 and 10 in figure 3)
from the 11th--30th July. According to past records,
forty per cent of snowfalls in SE Queensland occur in July. The black line
shows the 2-period moving average for smoothing purposes.
Figure Three
Fun in the Snow,
in Stanthorpe, 17th July, 2015. Photo
courtesy of the ABC
Glancing upwards,
as the clouds glide across the moon,
Silver stars are out
mingling with the drifting snowflakes,
A sight to enjoy
here and now, for morning will be here soon,
A
beautiful Christmas memory, deep in my heart to take.
Only one car
comes up the street, as I walk along our lane,
Just a friendly
snowman is there to greet me with a hello,
I stop, adjust
his top hat, and reposition his pipe and cane,
This cold-hearted
man has made a child smile, I know.
My ears lead me
to the street corner where carollers sing,
As those old
familiar notes drift towards me on the air,
More sounds seem
to awaken as the bells distantly ring,
I felt nothing
but a warming glow as I was standing there.
Extract form
‘Christmas Snow’ by Kelly Deschler
If any reader has a snow
story of their own, please contact me, I would love to use it in these pages if
you are happy for me to do so. Also, your observation and report of snow
falling in SE Queensland will make a valuable contribution to the record of
snow in our State.
Nicholas Oughton is an Associate Professor at
Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia. For further information contact
Nicholas Oughton at: najoughton@gmail.com
The romance of Snow. My Cousin Mathew is a fine painter of
railway themes.
The above painting shows a passenger service arriving at snowy West Hoathly (UK)
in the early 1950’s. This picture is courtesy of Mathew Cousins