NorthNSW

Yer a pretty intense system along the NSW central/south coast from about Newcastle southwards to Narooma. Being on the northern side of the ECL up here, we didn't get any rain from it. Impressive gust of 161km/h at Wattamolla, even if the anemometer does sit exposed at 44m ASL very near the cliffside From what I could see there appeared to be several small-scale lows come ashore around southern Sydney embedded in the troughline associated with the ECL. 128km Sydney Radar Loop between 2pm 14/10 to 2pm 15/10: http://www.theweatherchaser.com/radar-loop/IDR713-sydney-terrey-hills/2014-10-14-03/2014-10-15-03 Never pretty when you get high intensity rain fall with very strong winds over a heavily built-up area like Sydney, impermeable surfaces galore. News videos give a decent summary: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OBP8unskqY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRD6pkThu5k http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paB7r8c_8H8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_8fXwjFGRk

A windy thunderstorm moved through here on the 10th. It was a high based storm so there wasn't much rain in it, and looked undramatic. For a brief period the wind was very strong here, but clearly stronger nearby as it was only 2kms south of town near the village of Jerseyville that a hangar which usually houses a small aircraft was destroyed when the storm moved through. Officially, 87km/h was the highest gust recorded (at Kempsey). (Source: Macleay Argus - Facebook) There were storms about on the 16th as well. In the local vicinity they were quite weak and isolated, but further south in the local district at the small town of Smiths Lake there was a hailstorm that brought stones up to around the size of golf balls. (Source of both photos: Great Lakes Advocate - Facebook) 90 second video of hailstorm: https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10154661027350397

No probs. ~ The cold front which produced that hailstorm here, then brought snow showers to the northern NSW ranges that night. The southern parts of the northern ranges got the best falls. Hanging Rock: Sheba Dam: (Source of both photos above: Tamworth Weather - Facebook) Northern Daily Leader has 33 photos in its article "Yes, it snowed in Spring!": http://www.northerndailyleader.com.au/story/2533001/yes-it-snowed-in-spring-photos/?cs=157 Barrington Tops: (Source of both photos above: Gloucester Advocate newspaper)

A contrasting August for rainfall in NSW. The lack of frontal activity during the month caused areas of central and southern inland NSW to experience dry conditions, as these areas are fairly reliant on frontal activity for rainfall at this time of year. The northern inland of NSW and coastal NSW typically see less rain from frontal systems (which is why August is normally one of the driest months of the year for these areas), and in coastal NSW's case it will generally benefit from the absence of frontal systems as it usually means moist onshore winds will dominate instead (and if there's a trigger, like a trough, upper low etc., it can cause rain events). The onshore regime that dominated caused moist air to be pumped into that weather system over the eastern outback producing an unusual amount of rain over the northern inland for this time of year. Totals: Deciles: ~~~~~~~ A thunderstorm brought hail as large as 2cm in diameter here this afternoon. The biggest stones were very isolated, most stones weren't quite as big. The core of the storm moved through the southern part of town (only about 1km away from the house) but we still got a quick shower of hail as we clipped the northern edge of the storm cell. Collection of pictures of the storm as it approached and then hit: These pictures are from the southern side of town which received the core of the storm. The pictures were taken about 30-45 minutes after the storm had finished:

If you're looking for EC, try Wunderground's Wundermap. http://www.wunderground.com/wundermap On the side menu checklist, there is an option further down that says Model Data. Which then gives you an option to view EC's model run (out to 180 hours). It detects your location so until you move over here the map view will automatically default to the UK instead of Australia. Being an American site, the precipitation amounts are in inches. The BSCH (Brisbane Storm Chasers) site is probably the best site to view GFS on (with state and regional views available): http://forecasts.bsch.com.au/raincast.html http://forecasts.bsch.com.au/stormcast.html (the dropdown menu when you click on 'Complete Charts List unveils quite a number of different charts to view. Also at a state or regional view you can click anywhere on the map to get a forecast sounding for the time you've selected) Both are completely free with no sign up needed. ~~~~~ An East Coast Low produced areas of heavy rain on the NSW North Coast on the 26th & 27th of August. Minor flood warnings were issued for the Hastings, Bellinger, Orara and Richmond/Wilson Rivers. The highest 24 hour fall on the 26th was 182mm at Turners Flat (near Kempsey). Coincidently, the highest 24 hour fall recorded on the 27th was also 182mm at Tuckombil (near Ballina). Although on the 27th, BOM's automatic weather station at Ballina decided to stop recording rain (all other obs at that station continued recording though), so officially it is not known how much fell there, but it is suspected that up to around 300mm may have fell as the system stalled keeping intense rain falling over the town for hours (I have no doubt that at least 200mm fell at Ballina). The evening of the 26th and into the early hours of the 27th was surprisingly stormy here with four thunderstorms passing over town (three of the four producing a reasonable amount of lightning too). It is unusual to get thunderstorms come ashore from off the ocean here (the vast majority of thunderstorms we get here develop over land). The first of the storms also produced hailstones up to 1cm. Here at the house we received 71.8mm on the 26th and 44.6mm on the 27th. Most of Ballina is pretty much flat, so the water doesn't flow away quickly. Ballina sporting fields: (Source: Prime7 News North Coast) Ballina (there was heavy rain that night also): Typical response to heavy rain falling for hours near the racecourse at Coffs Harbour: (Source: Prime7 News North Coast) An upper level low to the northwest of the low that was offshore the NSW north coast produced storms over southeastern QLD on the 27th: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3arL30ilBRU

There is the potential for heavy rain here overnight and into tomorrow. It's already been a wet August, but could become a bit wetter. Also with the anticipated rain, a flood watch for minor flooding has been issued for the Bellinger, Orara, Richmond/Wilson, and Brunswick River valleys. The models have been all over the shop though, varying the distance the low will be offshore and consequently how much rain will occur. It should become clear by around early tomorrow morning if the heavy rain is on its way.

24 hour falls of up to 195mm on the southern coast of NSW have occurred from an East Coast Low. Last night's thunderstorms in southwestern WA produced winds as strong as 120km/h. Unconfirmed report of a tornado at Bunbury. A cargo ship at Fremantle broke free from its mooring during the winds and ran into the Fremantle Rail Bridge. It's not known if the bridge has received structural damage yet, but the bridge has been closed until it can be properly assessed.News article: http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/western-australia/storm-ship-hits-fremantle-rail-bridge-20000-homes-blacked-out/story-fnhocxo3-1227027683540

The system continued to bring notable amounts of rain as it progressed eastward. Getting widespread falls like this over several days in August is rather uncommon. There were a couple of isolated falls in excess of 100mm yesterday (too localised to be shown on map below). Daily rainfall records for August are somewhat higher for most places along the coast though. Nyngan in the central west of NSW (between Dubbo and Bourke) received 50.0mm, threatening its August daily record of 59.4mm (records back to 1879) Maryborough in the Wide Bay district of southern QLD received 90.6mm, it's wettest August day since 1893 (records back to 1870). Here at the house we had 68.8mm yesterday, which is the vast majority of our August monthly average. This afternoon's satellite picture showing the low over central northern NSW, which according to BOM's synoptic is now no longer associated with the troughline offshore. The cloudband associated with the troughline is now offshore of the east coast from Sydney northwards. Within that troughline though another low formed off the NSW north coast overnight and is now sitting not too distant offshore the Sydney coast (basically an East Coast Low). That low is helping to bring some heavy rain to the southern coast of NSW (with a Severe Weather Warning current down there), though that low isn't clearly evident on the satellite with the extensive cloud along the troughline it is embedded in. You can also see a cold front approaching Perth. That front is expected is bring potentially severe storms to coastal parts of southwestern WA during this evening.

Charleville had 52.0mm in the 24 hours to 9am. It's wettest August day on record in the combined history of the old (1874-1959) and present (1942-present) Charleville sites. Cunnamulla received 58.2mm in the 24 hours to 9am. It's wettest August day on record (1879-present) at that site. Yesterday's totals weren't too far off the daily August records at some sites with over 100 years history like: Wilcannia (30.6mm - record 40.4mm), Menindee (36.4mm - record 38.9mm), and White Cliffs (32.6mm - record 39.1mm). 24 hours to 9am rainfall map: How the system is looking early this afternoon on the satellite: Predicted rainfall over the next 4 days (the 200mm+ area on the southern NSW coast being the area where the East Coast Low that will form is favoured to affect):

A low and an associated trough (extending northwards from the low) is producing widespread rain over parts of the eastern Outback and northern coast / central areas of Queensland today. Excluding the small stretch of coastline south of Cairns around Innisfail, it's very unusual to get moderate to heavy rain like this in these areas of QLD during August. It also brought some rain yesterday too with Tibooburra receiving 32mm. The rain will continue moving eastward into southern QLD and the remainder of NSW. An East Coast Low is expected to form within the troughline as it moves offshore during Sunday, and is likely to bring heavy rain to the southern half of the NSW coast (some disagreement over where the heaviest rain will be). The visible satellite image from this afternoon below: Yesterday's rainfall: Today's map should look even better with falls of 25-50mm since 9am already in central QLD and 50-75mm since 9am on parts of the northern QLD coast. August average rainfall:

From what I've been able to find: Snow falling down to around 300m in the Hobart area with the highest suburbs (e.g. Collinsvale) getting snow during that most recent event. That reported snow level sounds about right as the Hobart site at 50.5m ASL was able to get down to 2.7ºC at the 9pm observation during precipitation, though it was mostly in the 3.5-4.5ºC range during the evening/overnight showers. Grove (at 65m ASL) in the neighbouring Huon Valley, about 30kms SW of Hobart, was getting temps as low as 1.7-1.8ºC with precip though mostly around 2.0-2.8ºC range during the evening/overnight showers, which would probably allow for snow falling closer to the 200m mark for that particular area in their nearby hills. Collinsvale school at about 340m was closed until mid-morning. There was snow down to 200m reported in the Mt Field National Park area. (https://au.news.yahoo.com/a/24681545/missing-bushwalkers-rescued-in-freezing-conditions-near-hobart/) (http://www.themercury.com.au/news/tasmania/a-winter-shade-of-pale-heavy-snowfalls-transform-hills-into-a-winter-wonderland/story-fnj4f7k1-1227020513271) Nice photos of snow on The Mercury's Facebook from various parts of southern Tasmania: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152655629228408.1073741836.100660463407&type=1 ~~~~~~~ It's been basically as dry as it gets around the local region, with this quote from BOMs most recent drought report: "Rainfall averaged over this region (between Bundaberg and Coffs Harbour, and inland to Roma and St George) for the 12 months is the second-lowest on record, and the lowest since 1901–02" Seems like Mother Nature's revenge for 6 years in a row of good rainfall. There is a good prospect of 20-30mm this weekend, and an outlying chance of more than that. While 20-30mm is better than nothing, it won't really have an impact. 50mm+ of rain would be better (with follow-up rain in the months afterward). Here's the 12 month rainfall decile/totals/anomaly maps showing the southeastern quadrant of the country with the Murray-Darling River catchment outlined on the map. Areas of the NSW North Coast have experienced rainfall deficiencies of over 800mm in the past 12 months. ~~~~~ A wintry surprise for towns in the Blue Mountains behind Sydney today with snow flurries falling. No snow was forecast.

A rather strong cold front to hit Tasmania tomorrow. BOM have forecast snow down to 100m across central and southern Tasmania: West Coast - Showers and possible hail, falling as snow above 100 metres. The chance of thunderstorms during the morning. South East - Showers and possible hail, falling as snow above 100 metres. The chance of thunderstorms in the far south during the morning and afternoon. Midlands - The chance of showers and hail, more likely in the afternoon, falling as snow at times above 100 metres. East Coast - Isolated showers and possible hail, mainly in the south, falling as snow above 100 metres from around midday. Upper Derwent Valley - Showers and possible hail developing in the morning, becoming less likely during the evening. Showers falling as snow at times. Central Plateau - Snow showers and possible hail. The chance of thunderstorms in the west in the morning. And down to 300m in northern Tasmania: North West Coast - Scattered showers and possible hail, falling as snow above 300 metres, contracting to the west during the evening. Central North - The chance of showers and hail from the morning, falling as snow above 300 metres. North East - The chance showers in the afternoon, falling as snow above 300 metres. The mainland will miss out on the coldest air, with snow levels lowering to about 800-900m in Victoria and around 1000m in southern NSW.

A beautiful, balmy August day here today: To add to what Styx said above about Canberra: Last night was the coldest August night in Canberra for 20 years (dropping to -7.6ºC) http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/canberra-thaws-after-coldest-august-morning-in-20-years-20140805-100i11.html Also from the article: (Mr Carson from Downton Abbey? ) P.S. Just noticed in this afternoon's update that Canberra's forecast minimum for tonight has been lowered to -6ºC. Seems a chance that 44-year record mentioned above could go.

Adelaide's just had its coldest August minimum temperature in 126 years!

Meteorologists are saying that the snowfall yesterday was the most widespread in Victoria in 25 years: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/melbourne-rugs-up-for-coldest-day-of-the-year-bitter-blast-in-the-afternoon-20140801-zz8ag.html Ballarat got a settling snowfall: http://www.thecourier.com.au/story/2457772/snow-falls-in-ballarat-city-centre/?cs=61 (114 photos and a couple brief videos) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMVKyo5_uSg Snow flurries reported from some Canberra suburbs yesterday: http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/chilly-weather-brings-snow-to-canberra-20140801-zzlr6.html http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vSov9XP51I Snow getting as far north as the central ranges of NSW: http://www.westernadvocate.com.au/story/2459555/its-snowing-in-the-central-tablelands-photos/?cs=115 (17 photos) Including a light settling at Katoomba: (Source: Blue Mountains Gazette - Facebook) No snow on the northern ranges of NSW as precip associated with the frontal system did not make it that far north (as forecast).

Warm to very warm temperatures yesterday for July, with nearby Kempsey reaching a max of 27.3ºC (the July max record being 28.2ºC in 41 years of records). Overall, the month has otherwise been fairly normal temp wise around the local region. Generally, nights are tracking a bit below average, and days are a little above average. Some warmer nights in the past week in response to some cloudcover and more humidity has seen the min temp anomaly reduce. Thunderstorm activity about northern NSW today. We were on the southern end of a line of thunderstorms this evening, getting a quick shower with a few bits of lightning. The weather cam at Bonny Hills about 85kms away from here was able to capture some of the lightning. A storm moved through that area where the webcam is during the early afternoon. Locally, mild to warm days and cool nights are expected under an area of high pressure until what looks like possibly being a decent-strength cold front moving through at the beginning of August, which will flush that warmth away.

My parents arrived in Vancouver yesterday. They left Sydney at 10:20am Sunday and arrived in Vancouver at 7:30am Sunday (that's not a typo). They flew direct from Sydney to Vancouver on Air Canada. They hit three areas of decent turbulence. Notably, one patch near Hawaii and the flight path was diverted slightly, and another patch roughly halfway between Hawaii and Vancouver. They arrived in a damp, misty/drizzly Vancouver. Walked about the city centre, including checking out Canada Place. A cool to mild but comfortable day (I see it got to 19.2ºC yesterday at Vancouver Airport, which is actually a typical July max temp here). They stayed at the Fairmont Hotel last night. I spoke to them about an hour ago, and they board the Norwegian Sun (cruise ship) at Canada Place in a few hours. The ship will take them on an Alaskan cruise. Tomorrow (Jul 22) they cruise through the 'Inside Passage' to Ketchikan (Jul 23), Juneau (Jul 24), Skagway (Jul 25), cruise Glacier Bay (Jul 26), cruise Hubbard Glacier (Jul 27), Anchorage (Jul 28), cruise Hubbard Glacier (Jul 29), Icy Strait Point (Jul 30), cruise Sawyer Glacier (Jul 31), Juneau (Jul 31), Skagway (Aug 01), Ketchikan (Aug 02), cruise 'Inside Passage' (Aug 03), and arrive back in Vancouver in the morning (Aug 04).

Had to finish off an assessment, so this post is late. From the snow events on the NSW ranges three days ago: Northern NSW- "Snow falls across the New England" (71 photos) (2 brief videos): http://www.armidaleexpress.com.au/story/2426178/mega-galleryvideos-snow-falls-across-the-new-england/ "Road closed as icy conditions make Tops travel hazardous" (18 photos): http://www.gloucesteradvocate.com.au/story/2426276/gallery-road-closed-as-icy-conditions-make-tops-travel-hazardous/ Barrington Tops: (Source [all photos]: Mansfield Cottage Barrington Tops Holiday Accommodation - Facebook) Central NSW- "It's snowing again: Orange's third fall of 2014" (83 photos): http://www.centralwesterndaily.com.au/story/2426086/readers-photos-its-snowing-again-oranges-third-fall-of-2014/ "Snow in the Lithgow region" (11 photos): http://www.lithgowmercury.com.au/story/2426694/snow-in-the-lithgow-region/ "It's snowing in the Central West" (88 photos): http://www.westernadvocate.com.au/story/2426323/gallery-its-snowing-in-the-central-west/ Good news in the alpine resorts too. Falls Creek (Vic) snow base has reached a 25-year high of 163cm. The first season that's achieved 150cm since 1990:

Photo of snow falling today on the central ranges of Victoria: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=731333700238994&set=a.362247350480966.79713.138092056229831&type=1 Probably more out there if I had time to go through all the social media. Here is NSW BOM's summary of the weather situation: District forecasts with snow mentioned in NSW/ACT: Snowy Mountains: Tonight: Isolated showers, tending widespread in the west and falling as snow above 600 or 700 metres Tomorrow: Scattered snow showers, becoming less likely during the evening. (Isolated snow showers above 1100m on Saturday as well) South West Slopes: Tonight: Scattered showers, becoming widespread during the evening. Possible thunder and small hail. Scattered snow showers above 700 metres. Tomorrow: Showers, becoming less likely in the morning, clearing in the afternoon. Showers falling as snow at times above 600 metres. Possible thunderstorms early in the morning. South Coast: Tomorrow: Scattered snow showers about the coastal ranges above 900 metres during the morning. Scattered showers, becoming less likely in the late afternoon. Riverina: Tomorrow: Isolated showers and possible thunderstorms in the east early in the morning. Showers falling as snow above 600 metres. Australian Capital Territory: Tonight: Isolated showers, becoming more widespread at night and falling as snow above 800 metres. Tomorrow: Scattered showers, becoming less likely in the morning, clearing in the afternoon. Showers falling as snow at times above 700 metres. Southern Tablelands: Tonight: Isolated showers, becoming more widespread later tonight with snow developing above 800 metres. Tomorrow: Scattered showers during the morning, more frequent in the northwest. Isolated snow showers above 600 metres during the morning. Central Tablelands: Tonight: Isolated showers, becoming more widespread later tonight, with snow developing above about 800 metres. Tomorrow: Showers, becoming less likely in the morning, clearing in the afternoon. Showers falling as snow at times above 600 metres. Central West Slopes & Plains: Tomorrow: Isolated showers in the morning. Snow showers on the slopes above 500 metres, becoming less widespread in the morning, clearing in the afternoon. Possible thunderstorms on the southern plains early in the morning. Northern Tablelands: Tomorrow: Isolated showers during the morning, falling as snow above 800 metres. North West Slopes & Plains: Tomorrow: Isolated showers in the morning. Scattered snow showers on the southern slopes above 600 metres during the morning. Mid North Coast: Tomorrow: Isolated snow showers about higher ground above 700 metres during the morning. The chance of showers, contracting to the coastal fringe in the afternoon. District forecast map if you aren't familiar with the districts: ~~~ A chilly maximum of 16ºC with strong winds expected here tomorrow.

Cold weather on the way again tomorrow/Friday. In summary, BOM have forecast snow falling as low as: - 600-800m in Tasmania (depending on which district you're in)- 600m in Victoria- 600-700m on the southern and central NSW ranges.- 800-900m on southwestern parts of the northern NSW ranges. 1000m elsewhere on the southern half of the northern NSW ranges (precipitation isn't expected to reach the northern half). 0.4mm fell here today, which ended a 17 day dry spell. At this stage, the next fortnight is looking pretty dry around the local area.

Forgot to add that a tornado hit the Perth suburbs of O'Connor, Hilton and Claremont earlier today (the tornado has been confirmed by the Bureau). http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/western-australia/strong-winds-and-heavy-rain-damage-homes-across-perths-southern-suburbs/story-fnhocxo3-1226987966373?nk=11c8e6227ca0250aef40296c73485e50 (Source for all three photos: Perth Weather Live - Facebook) 20 more photos from Perth Weather Live here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.723197654388116.1073742050.269003509807535&type=1 7 News story:

The Barrington Tops received a light settling of snow yesterday morning. A very cold day in Alice Springs yesterday, only reaching a maximum of 7.5ºC. Not record-breaking, but not too far off the mark really (the record low max being 7.0ºC in July 2010 and Aug 1966) (that site has 72 years of records. The July max avg. is 19.7ºC). The previous Alice site (1878-1953) recorded a record low max of 6.7ºC in July 1901. Yuendumu had its coldest day (8.1ºC) in 45 years of records (July max avg. 22.0ºC). Territory Grape Farm had its coldest day (9.2ºC) on record too, but it only has 20 years of records (July max avg. 22.5ºC). Here is yesterday's max temp anomaly map: 25.6mm of rain for the Alice too yesterday. The same northwest cloudband / trough brought localised heavy rain to an area of the Kimberley (in WA), where up to 242mm fell in 24 hours. Cygnet Bay (50 years of records) received that 242mm fall, well and truly smashing its wettest July (86.8mm) and wettest July day on record (78.6mm). Its July average is 6.2mm. Only February and March have received a higher daily fall than that (Feb highest daily - 269.4mm / Mar highest daily - 268.0mm). Bidyadanga in the southern Kimberley wasn't far off its July record low max (17.3ºC) (54 years of records), getting to 17.9ºC two days ago (July max avg. 29.5ºC). Mandora, near the Kimberley/Pilbara district border, had its coldest July day on record two days ago (17.2ºC) (July avg max. 28.9ºC) (51 years of records).

Glen Innes Airport on the northern NSW ranges got down to -11.3ºC last night (the record is -12.8ºC for that site, but it is still very cold). The official record low for a place on the northern NSW ranges is -14.5ºC at the village of Woolbrook (http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_055136_All.shtml). The northern ranges are particularly known for their "frost hollows", during clear, dry and calm nights, it is not uncommon to see differences of 4-8ºC (and sometimes more!) between the temp of the valley floor and the hilltops. A waterfall near Ebor produced a novelty event a few years ago after a series of very cold nights: http://www.weatherarmidale.com/images1.html No rain here for the past fortnight. 13.4mm over the past 30 days. Level 3 Water restrictions were introduced yesterday, which means: - Sprinklers and fixed hoses are banned. - The use of one hand held hose for 1 hour (in two 30 minute sessions), every second day on “odds & evens" days matching your house number (For example, if your house number is 2, then you can water on all the even days of the month i.e. 2nd, 4th, 6th etc). From 6:30am to 7:00am and 6:00pm to 6:30pm. - No garden watering will be permitted on 31st day of the month. - Hoses must be fitted with a water cut-off trigger or control nozzle. - Watering cans and buckets can be used at any time when filled from a fixed tap. - No restrictions apply to internal use, however all water saving initiatives are encouraged. Two days ago there was a bit of snow on the northern NSW ranges, with light settlings or snow flurries in some places (judging by some photos perhaps tending closer to a moderate settling than a light settling on some parts of the Barrington Tops). "Snow falls in the New England" - Northern Daily Leader (10 photos): http://www.northerndailyleader.com.au/story/2408954/photos-snow-falls-in-the-new-england/ "Snow falls across the Barrington Tops" - Gloucester Advocate (12 photos): http://www.gloucesteradvocate.com.au/story/2410968/gallery-snow-falls-across-the-barrington-tops/ Barrington Tops: (Source: Mansfield Cottage Barrington / Barrington Tops Holiday Accomodation - Facebook) (all three photos) According to a weather report from the Barrington Tops earlier today, a small amount of settled snow still remained on some parts of the Barrington Tops this morning. They showed a cute video on the local news of a Tasmanian Devil in the snow on the Barrington Tops: http://www.nbnnews.com.au/index.php/2014/07/11/devils-at-home-in-the-snow/ Tazzie Devils in the recent snowfall on the Barrington Tops: (Source: Devil Ark - Facebook) (both photos)

A bit of light snow on the northern ranges of NSW on June 30th. Guyra recorded its coldest maximum for the year so far with 3.8ºC (4.6ºC and 4.1ºC maximums were recorded during the snow event near the beginning of May). A light settling at the village of Black Mountain, a little south of Guyra: (Source: Northern Rivers Severe Weather Group - Facebook) Pictures of snow flurries in Guyra (10 photos): http://www.guyraargus.com.au/story/2385108/photos-snow-day/?cs=603#slide=1 And another light settling on the Barrington Tops: (Source: Tamworth Weather - Facebook) Historical weather - The July 3rd 1984 snowfall was a very significant one on the northern ranges of NSW. There are 50 photos to view in the article: http://www.guyraargus.com.au/story/2393687/1984-the-year-it-snowed-dangerously/?cs=605 In more recent times, the October 2012 snowfall was reasonably significant. It brought 17cm of snow to Guyra. A light dusting of snow or snow flurries are possible on the northern NSW ranges tomorrow. Not much weather happening here lately, aside from a windy though brief squall-line thunderstorm on June 28th. Today was a beautiful sunny 23ºC day, with mostly light winds. Fairly standard July temps for the next week in nearby Coffs, though the nights are a bit chillier than normal for July. Extended sunny, dry weather around here is not unusual in July: We need the rain though. Rainfall over the past 12 months has been very much below average across northern NSW, with some places on the northern ranges experiencing record dry over this period. We've had only 974.4mm over the past 12 months, well below the average of around 1485mm. However, there's no surprises that drought conditions have returned following six years in a row of good to very good rainfall. We're now in the traditionally drier half of the year, so chances are we may not see some relief until summer:

Let it snow. (Article published 7 hours ago) Windy weather yesterday and today, mainly across Victoria and NSW (excluding here on the northern NSW coast). Gusts reaching 75-100km/h were widespread yesterday/overnight, with some locations getting winds stronger than this. Notably, the coastal locations around the Illawarra in NSW, a little to the south of Sydney Metro, had gusts in excess of 100km/h yesterday. Wollongong Airport (Albion Park), 117km/h. Bellambi, 113km/h. Kiama, 106km/h. There was also a bit of storm surge too in Melbourne yesterday causing some minor inundation about the Yarra River. Quite a number of places around Victoria and NSW have had gusts reach the 75-90km/h range during today too. On the news tonight, they said this week could be Sydney's windiest week in a decade. Here on the northern coast of NSW we did not receive the powerful winds. Around the local area, gusts maxed out around 40km/h yesterday, and maxed out at around 35km/h today.