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I live in Queensland or coastal NSW: where can I see snow this week?

Anthony Sharwood

By now you've read all about the first really big winter storm system of 2021, with a cold pool of air and snowfalls likely as far north as the NSW Northern Tablelands and even elevated parts of southern Queensland - but where can you go to throw a snowball or two?

A little further down the page, we've compiled a quick guide to some of the likely snow hot spots - actually, make that cold spots. But first, here's an explanation of why snow is likely:

Image: A pretty lame snowman the author built once for his daughter: Source: The embarrassed author.

  • As Weatherzone meteorologist Ben Domensino explained earlier on Monday, this system will start off as a typical (if extra cold) winter cold front coming in from the southwest.
  • A cut-off-low will then form, which means the cold pool of air gets cut off from the main belt of low pressure systems that circulates the Southern Ocean year-round south of Australia.
  • So instead of the coldest air blowing out into the Tasman Sea as the front passes, it will hang around for a few days.
  • Where things get really interesting is that the cold air in cut-off lows can often drift further north than usual. And that's one of the most common ways to get snow - sometimes quite heavy - in northern NSW and Queensland.
  • At this stage, it looks like Wednesday into Thursday morning is the most likely time for snow in unusual places. As metnioned, we can't tell you exactly where it'll happen, but here are some of the likely spots:

So then. Where to go to see the snow?

NSW Southern Tablelands

  • While it's rarer to see snow in the Northern Tablelands than the far Southern Tablelands, it's still pretty exciting to see flakes in Bombala, NSW, a town of 1400 residents which is which is just 705 metres above sea level.
  • Bombala is about 90 minutes from the large coastal towns of Merimbula and Bega, but please, be careful on the roads.
  • The nearby smaller but higher town of Nimmitabel, at 1075 metres, is often a safer bet for snow. Good bakery there too!

NSW Northern Tablelands

  • Guyra is a town of 2000 locals, half an hour north of Armidale at 1330 metres above sea level. It's the highest town in Australia outside of the Snowy Mountains of NSW and Victorian Alps and is usually the best chance of Northern Tablelands snow in a system like this.
  • Guyra is two-and-a-half hours drive from Coffs Harbour, and while that's a fair hike, how often can Coffs locals say they made a snowman and had a surf on the same day? You wouldn't have to be totally bananas to make the trip.
  • Armidale's official elevation is 980 metres, though there are higher parts of the large university town with a population of 30,000. Snow is forecast above 900 metres in the area on Wednesday and Thursday, so snow in town seems likely. But Guyra is just half an hour north if the atmosphere is a tiny bit too warm.
  • Another Northern Tablelands snow magnet is Walcha, population 1400, which can be accessed from Taree or Port Macquarie. The town sits at 1067m and there are many higher hills nearby reaching up as high as 1400m.

NSW Central Tablelands and Blue Mountains

  • The most moist cold air associated with this system at this stage is predicted to track north of places like Oberon, Bathurst and Orange, which sit west of Sydney. But they're all a pretty good chance of at least some snow on Wednesday into Thursday.
  • It's a similar story in Blue Mountains towns like Katoomba (1017m) and its slightly higher near-neighbour Blackheath, where some snow is most likely on Wednesday. If heading up on a snow chase from Sydney, it would be definitely best to take the train.

The Hunter

  • If you live in Newcastle or surrounds, it's all about the Barrington Tops, where the road is higher than 1400m in places. But beware! The dirt road can be pretty sketchy in snow and often closes.

Southern Queensland

  • For easy access to the snow that falls in Queensland once every few years, it's at's all about the towns of Stanthorpe and Applethorpe, which are both just a little higher than 800 metres.
  • Both towns are just a tick under three hours from Brisbane, so if you've got the day off on Wednesday or Thursday, why not? Snow is only forecast down to 1000 metres for Queensland's Granite Belt region, but there are some hills of that elevation near both towns.

Happy snow chasing, and again, please drive carefully and be sure to check the Weatherzone app and website for snowy updates.

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