It's not going to snow at Suncorp Stadium on Wednesday night as the Queensland Maroons host the New South Wales Blues for State of Origin III with the series poised 1-1, that much we can promise.

But light snow flurries are absolutely possible on Tuesday July 16, Wednesday July 17, and Thursday July 18 on the Granite Belt region of southern Queensland, as a cold airmass originating in Antarctic waters crosses the border.

The chilly air will be accompanied by sufficient moisture for occasional light showers which could fall as snow on high ground above about 1000 metres.

Snow is of course not unknown in Queensland

The Granite Belt town of Stanthorpe, at an elevation of just over 800 metres, holds the record for Queensland's coldest recorded temperature of a bitterly cold –10.6°C back in June 1961, and also sees occasional snowfalls.

The heaviest snowfalls in Stanthorpe this century occurred on July 17, 2015, when at least 5 cm of fluffy white stuff coated the region.

Welcome to @Queensland , we currently have some technical issues, Weather shall be fixed in 6 months.
@MiladyEly pic.twitter.com/2rVXuVQcev

— Kat (@KatRose1997) July 17, 2015

Even the nearby town of Ballandean at an elevation of 720 m saw settled snow that day.

@slqld @abcsouthqld Coldest dinosaur in Queensland, Fruitisforus dino at Ballandean on New England highway. pic.twitter.com/awjKobGU2I

— Louise (@houseofbromley) July 17, 2015

Here's what the BoM’s synoptic chart looked like on July 17, 2015.

Source: BoM.

And here's the Weatherzone synoptic chart for July 17 2024, as in this Wednesday.

The two charts are not identical but they're not too different either. The main feature they have in common is a flow of air from polar latitudes circulating anti-clockwise around a high in the Bight and being directed northwards toward southern Queensland, with moisture provided by troughs associated with a low in the Tasman Sea.

These systems are always a bit hit and miss, so we'll have to wait and see if this week's set-up delivers a few flakes for Queensland.

Meanwhile if you happen to be heading to the game, it'll be a cold night by Brisbane standards with a low of nine degrees with maximums of 19°C expected from Monday through to Thursday.

Kickoff is at 8:05 pm, at which time the apparent or "feels like" temperature should be around 11 or 12 degrees in the stands. That'll drop by a degree or two throughout the game even as temperatures rise on the field and in the coaching boxes.

Will the Blues break the ice and win their first series since 2021 or will the Maroons freeze them out again? We’ll stick to weather forecasting.