Queenslanders have been obsessing over wild weather events for more than a century

It’s Queensland’s secret passion, and the wilder the better. From icy blasts and supercells, to mini-tornadoes and even a tiny hint of snow we have been obsessed with wild weather for more than 100 years.

WHILE the thought of an approaching icy blast sends a chill down the spine for many Australians, for many Queenslanders, it’s a welcome change.

With unseasonal cold headed our way this weekend residents of the Sunshine State - locked down in glorious weather for weeks - finally have something different to look forward to.

Readers have long been fascinated by weather stories on couriermail.com.au, whether they’re about heat, cold, storms or sunshine.

Passionate weather followers crave an icy blast. They long for a good Antarctic vortex, and

yearn for a dramatic east coast low.

THE BITTER COLD CHANGE COMING TO QUEENSLAND THIS WEEKEND

FULL GUIDE TO THE EASING OF COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS FROM SATURDAY

During storm season, they watch couriermail.com.au and the Bureau of Meteorology website and track approaching weather, looking for red and black spots on the radar on wondering how wild things are.

When the term ‘supercell’ appears, its intensity is matched only by reader interests; mini-tornadoes are infrequent but fascinating, and we love our hail (whether it’s the size of a 10 cents coin, egg, cricket ball, grapefruit).

Clean up after vicious storms at The Gap: Vowing to rebuild, Graham and Lynette Bigby sit in the demolished bedroom of their once great Kimruska Place home

And when the storm has passed (and sometimes while it’s in progress) they share their pictures and video with this website and with friends on social media - because with weather, we’re all eyewitnesses to nature’s power.

During the super-destructive Gap storm in 2008 couriermail.com.au ran a gallery of amazing photographs of the damage - images which were viewed an incredible seven million times.

Our passion for weather stories is not a new thing - Courier-Mail readers have been fascinated by these articles for a very long time.

In April 1939, we carried a remarkable story about a pilot who encountered snow at 3000m above sea level in the skies inland from Townsville. In June 1944, we carried a tale about some US servicemen working on the fifth floor of a Brisbane building who reported snow flakes outside their window. And in 1954 we reported snow at Mt Mitchell, 130km southwest of Brisbane.

Today, weather forecasts with a hint of possible snow or sleet often inspire Brisbane residents to head for the southern border around Stanthorpe or Ballandean with the hope of sighting a snowflake or two.

But we’re also fans of hot weather stories and have been for a long time: The Courier-Mail’s predecessor, The Brisbane Courier, carried a gripping report in January 1902 of a heatwave slamming central Queensland.

The story, bylined as ‘From our own correspondent’, told of 400 sheep perishing in the Barcaldine district and dead birds in Longreach.

And it got worse: ‘A gentleman who lives on Meteor Downs, In the Springsure district, writing to a friend, says: “Yesterday (the 17th December), when out on the run I saw native boars and jackasses fall dead from their perches in the trees.” Another gentleman, who lives at Springwood, also in the Springsure district, in a letter of the 18th instant, says: ‘The heat has cracked the glasses in the house and melted the glue in the chairs. In the bush birds and native bears have dropped dead out of the trees.’

So if you’re a Courier-Mail reader who likes their weather stories, you’re following in the footsteps of many others before you.