Rare weather phenomenon may treat Aussies to first white Christmas in 19 years

Some among us could be lucky enough to enjoy a white Christmas this year. The rare Australian phenomenon last occurred almost two decades ago.

A senior meteorologist from the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) told Yahoo News the “unusual” event is looking likely for some in Tasmania. Others across the country will grapple with extreme heat or storms.

The bureau’s Angus Hines said there was “definitely the potential” for some snow in southern and western areas of Tasmania on Christmas Eve and into Christmas morning if the forecast stays true.

“The period where it looks most likely is beginning on Christmas Eve and then heading into the first half of the day on Christmas morning, and then gets increasingly unlikely after maybe 8 or 9 am,” he told Yahoo News.

This means places like Liawenee and Miena on Tasmania’s Central Plateau may be treated to snow on Christmas morning.

The lowest snow level will be between 800 and 900 metres across the high country in Tasmania through Christmas Eve night, and campers and hikers are the most likely to see the snow.

Rare Australian event last seen 19 years ago

Hines said a white Christmas in Australia is pretty rare, with it last occurring 19 years ago.

“We asked our climate team to go back and have a look, and they reckon the last time that there was measurable snow on Christmas Day was 2006, which was also for southern-western Tasmania, and there was also, I believe, a little dusting on parts of southern Victoria on 2006 Christmas Day as well.

“So this is not going to be the first time, but a long time between drinks in regards to the potential for snowfall over Christmas,” he said.

What’s in store for Christmas Day for the rest of the country?

In the western parts of the country, Aussies are being urged to brace for an “absolute scorcher”.

In Perth, the temperature is expected to reach 41 degrees.

“They’ll be in the grips of a heatwave out that way on the 25th, and then cooling off into Boxing Day, back down to around 29 or so,” Hines said.

For the rest of the country, it’s a tale of two halves.

In the south, a few light showers are expected; however, the north will see some “sizeable rainfall totals across almost all of Northern Australia.”

“So through Darwin and right across the Northern Territory, much of Queensland has got a storm risk on Christmas Day,” Hines said.

In Sydney, showers are expected during the day with highs of 24, according to BoM.

Melbourne can similarly expect showers with a high of just 17 degrees, and Adelaide can expect partial clouds with a high of 25.

Source : Yahoo News