![Something like this? [image credit: BBC]](https://tallbloke.files.wordpress.com/2015/07/roo_snow.jpg)
Something like this? [image credit: BBC]
Not quite what’s expected by most officially-sponsored channels that like to trumpet supposed relentless warming in our futures…
Temperatures will drop to freezing on much of Australia’s east coast this weekend in what could be the region’s bitterest cold snap in five years, the Daily Telegraph reports.
Strong cold winds, rain, snow and hail were expected to batter the nation’s south-east for days.
Sydneysiders could expect an average maximum temperature of 59F (15C) for four days – a two year record.
And temperatures across the region were expected to drop three to seven degrees below average for up to five days, according to Weatherzone.
The NSW Bureau of Meteorology warned of a burst of cold weather caused by a series of cold fronts set to move through the state on Friday and continue over the weekend.
Snow was expected at higher elevations overnight on Thursday.
Barry Hanstrum, Bureau of Meteorology regional director, said he expected temperatures would “plummet, winds will be fresh to strong, and snow will fall down to low elevations”.
Snow was expected for the Australian Alpine region on Saturday extending along the Great Dividing Range on Sunday.
“Following a slow start to the snow season, this weather system could benefit snow enthusiasts with more snowfall expected in the Alps well into next week,” Mr Hanstrum said.
Peter Zmijewski, senior meteorologist with the NSW Bureau of Meteorology, urged scepticism about what he said were sensational media claims about the weather.
While the period was expected to be the coldest in five or six years, he told the Telegraph that was impossible to confirm until it happened.
“It is definitely shaping up as the most significant cold snap so far this year,” he said.
Mr Zmijewski said bitter winds would contribute a significant chill factor.
“I think everywhere in the state, wherever you are, it’s going to be cold.”
The chill is expected to ease on Wednesday.
Report: Coldest snap in five years to hit Australia with predicted snow and hail – Telegraph.
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Tallbloke's Talkshop 
I’ve known UK weather to be polar opposite of Australia’s – perhaps we’re in for another heatwave, starting July 24th / 25th?
Let’s see polar vortex at an altitude of 17 km over Australia.
http://earth.nullschool.net/#current/wind/isobaric/70hPa/orthographic=107.45,-37.55,454
Jet stream at an altitude of 3500 m in the troposphere , 15.07.11.
http://earth.nullschool.net/#2015/07/11/1500Z/wind/isobaric/700hPa/orthographic=107.45,-37.55,454
“I’ve known UK weather to be polar opposite of Australia’s”
It is Wimbledon week.
Three typhoons they hit in China.
http://earth.nullschool.net/#current/wind/isobaric/850hPa/orthographic=157.27,19.54,454
temperatures across the region were expected to drop three to seven degrees below average for up to five days
Considering it’s BOM should we subtract a few degrees to get a more realistic ‘average’ 😀
I spent 25 years in Sydney; a 15℃ maximum isn’t that unusual, especially in July.
Across the south of Australia strong winds and rain are miserable days, with below average maximum temperature, but the minimum is often above average because it is overcast. It is the clear nights that see frosts.
Snow falls at higher altitudes every winter.
BoM minimum temps for Canberra 12-16 July are all below zero C (-1 to -4).
http://www.bom.gov.au/act/forecasts/canberra.shtml
A few comments here. I have lived in Canberra and now live on the Central Coast. It is not unusual for Canberra to have a temperature below zero Celcius. in fact it is quite normal during the winter. There have been occasions when we saw snow in the suburbs of Canberra and not just on the mountain ranges. The cold of cold is what I call bone chilling cold.
The low has already started to hit here. For us, on the Central Coast we do not expect it to be all that chilly but it will be cold.
The picture of the kangaroo in the snow was probably taken in Canberra where the kangaroos are seen right into the suburbs. They were a common sight where I used to live and yes we had snow in that area when we lived there.
The Antarctic Vortex that we are expecting has lots of snow building up already. It is most likely that snow will be dumped over the mountain ranges where we have the ski resorts. It is highly likely that there will be snow dumped on the Barrington Tops (not for the first time). Snow is expected in areas up to 600 m above sea level. That could mean a helluva lot of snow over the Blue Mountains again, and that Orange will also get more than its fair share of snow.
Either way if it is as cold as predicted it will be a good time to stay in bed!!
Mid-summer snow in California…
‘NWS Hanford says it is a rare sight to see snow falling below 10,000 feet there in July’
http://iceagenow.info/2015/07/mid-summer-snow-in-california/
Yes, the cold is not that unusual for Canberra – I was walking round the lake last Sunday morning and it was only 2C, I think we got a max of 4C that day. -5 or -6 are not uncommon overnight. What is interesting about this system is its size and the very cold conditions inside it – the word seems to be to expect widespread snow and rain across all of SE Australia. If it comes off we hope to see snow in Canberra itself, the last decent fall was way back around 2004 I think.
Andrew Bolt in Australia chimes in : ‘Er, Global Warming?’
ren says: July 9, 2015 at 6:13 pm
I have been looking at and storing the NuSchool Earth/Wind Map centred on the Antarctic every day since the 30th of May, you can see that the Antarctic is a Giant Cold Engine, ie the opposite of a heat engine.
It is surrounded by weather systems taking the warmth from the Surface of the Sea all around it and replacing it with cold Air.
Beyond the Sea Ice is a band of Sea Water that is 5-10 degrees C colder than sea right next to it, the transition over a distance of a few hundred miles of sea is staggering.
It is cooling the tip of South America and New Zealand as well as Australia.
Graeme, I saw snow in Canberra, or at least in Gunghalin around 2008. This occurred in early August (it was possibly August 1). There were snow flurries and we drove through them as we returned from Fyshwyk to the burbs around Gunghalin after making a purchase for some chairs.
With regard to the high for the day, I am not in the least bit surprised that Canberra has been experiencing such a minimal high temperature!!
Canberra is definitely not a good example for what the rest of us might be experiencing. Right now the sun is shining and it is hard to believe that we are expecting this Antartic Vortex to hit tomorrow.
Sydney Morning Herald weather forecast for July 12.
http://www.smh.com.au/environment/weather/snow-time-for-homewardbound-holidaymakers-as-cold-front-moves-in-20150710-gi9fhk.html
I live on the coast and there has not been any snow. So far the prediction of wild weather, especially where I live has been a big fizzer. However, that is not the case elsewhere. Orange has had a very big dump of snow.
The wind chill factor does make a difference about the level of the cold, but the sun is shining at least for the time being.
At the moment I am of the view that the whole thing has been yet another nothing burger.
The deep blue areas on the weather graphic above are the predicted ‘snow zones’.
None on the coast, but not too far from Sydney:
‘Thundersnow: rare weather event hits Blue Mountains’
http://www.smh.com.au/environment/weather/thundersnow-rare-weather-event-hits-blue-mountains-20150712-giacvs.html
BoM forecaster said these kinds of weather events were rare and he’d never come across one in the Blue Mountains.
‘Your pictures: Severe weather brings snow, blizzards, heavy rain to areas across south-east Australia’
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-12/your-photos-severe-cold-weather-brings-snow/6613628
‘The cold snap that brought blizzards, snow, gale-force winds and heavy rain across parts of continental Australia over the weekend is set to continue well into the week.’
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-12/blizzard-gale-winds-heavy-rain-descend-across-the-country/6613474
Orange turns white.
[credit: ABC News]
NZ: ‘Auckland’s coldest morning recorded in 64 years’
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/70170194/Aucklands-coldest-morning-recorded-in-64-years
Bruce in Newcastle has a graphic of a jet stream loop from Antarctica to Australia.
http://notrickszone.com/2015/07/10/mid-july-frost-surprises-central-europe-this-morning/comment-page-1/#comment-1031996
SYDNEY HAS COLDEST NIGHTS FOR 44 YEARS 1ST TO 15TH JULY 2015
“Thing Of The Past” Strikes Australia
http://realclimatescience.com/2015/07/thing-of-the-past-strikes-australia/