‘Snowflakes in the Sunshine State’: Qld could experience ‘rare’ snowfall as parts of Australia set to shiver through below average temperatures

Australians are set to shiver through rain and below average cool temperatures this weekend as one state prepares for a “rare” glimpse of snow.

Snow is expected “well away” from the Australian Alps this weekend, with the chance of “rare” snowflakes in one state.

Queensland could get a rare spell of snow on Tuesday night or the early hours of Wednesday, Sky News Weather meteorologist Alison Osborne said.

“Snowflakes in the Sunshine State, it is very rare but it’s not unheard of,” she said.

“The last snow was in June 2019 in a town called Eukey … This sits in an elevation just under 1000m, so it was cold enough to snow on that day.”

While this rare weather event could recur Tuesday or Wednesday, it may be too dry.

Snow is also expected through parts of the ACT, Blue Mountains, and the Central Tablelands, while light flakes are likely to be experienced in the Northern Tablelands of NSW between Monday and Wednesday.

“So certainly quite a significant cold outbreak upon us,” Ms Osborne said.

“The main culprit coming in is cold air and a deep low pressure system … This low pressure system is approaching Tasmania by Sunday, likely to bring damaging wind gusts across parts of the state and also the threat of some heavy rainfall.”

Parts of Victoria, Tasmania and NSW could have snowfall in coming days. Picture: NewsWire / Nicki Connolly

Eastern and southeastern Australia are set to shiver through temperatures between 2C and 5C degrees below average this weekend. Picture: NewsWire / Damian Shaw

Those in eastern and southeastern Australia can also brace for rain and chilly temperatures of between 2C and 5C below average over the weekend and into early next week, Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Dean Narramore said.

“Which doesn’t sound like much, but being July, the coldest month of the year, most places in the south only average somewhere between 12 and 15 degrees,” he said.

“(It will be) a wintry weekend across much of eastern and southeastern Australia.”

Queensland could get even colder by mid-next week, with the possibility of temperatures dropping as low as 8C.

Frigid air dragged up from Antarctica is expected to reach southeastern Australia by Saturday, with single digit maximums likely in large areas of Tasmania, southern Victoria and up the eastern coast.

Southeasterly winds are expected to push the cold air mass into much of the country from the weekend.

A low-pressure system in the Tasman Sea will generate winds that will lead to a wind chill, with temperatures likely to feel much colder than the actual temperature across much of the country, according to a Weatherzone report.

“We’re going to see rain and strong to possibly damaging winds spread across much of Tasmania, and some of the wind and rain will then also wrap up into southern parts of Victoria,” Mr Narramore also said.

Originally published as ‘Snowflakes in the Sunshine State’: Qld could experience ‘rare’ snowfall as parts of Australia set to shiver through below average temperatures