Australia snow: Subtropical state hit by surprise whiteouts, gales and ice

Event marks first snowfall in state since 2015

A kangaroo jumps in snow near Lithgow in the Blue Mountains, NSW (Carol Probets)

Strong winds and severe cold weather have battered the east coast of Australia, bringing snow as far north as the subtropical region of Queensland.

In what was described as a rare event, snow fell on alpine regions of New South Wales and in its neighbouring state on Tuesday, Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology reported.

Queensland has not seen significant snowfall since 2015. Train delays and traffic accidents hit commuters in the Blue Mountains region west of Sydney after waking up to some 5cm of snow.

Rail passengers were advised to allow extra time for their journeys.

Severe weather alerts were also issued across Australia’s east coast where strong gusty winds with speeds up to 130kmh (80mph) caused waves higher than 5m and trees to fall on to roads.

Ferries were cancelled for over six hours in Sydney, as Sydney Ferries said that using them was just too dangerous.

Services have since resumed, and a road weather alert for Sydney was also cancelled in the Australian afternoon.

Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology said the cause of the severe weather was a strong cold front moving northward in east Australia, bringing “very cold and unstable air” and widespread rainfall.

Just a few days ago, on 30 May, Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology predicted that the winter, which starts in June in Australia, would be warmer and drier than average.

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