Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Rare Summer Snows in Australia

Australia Summer Marked By Snow, Heavy Flooding


It may be summertime "down under," but instead of sunshine and warm breezes, Australia has been hit with severe weather conditions, including unseasonable flooding and even a snowstorm, the BBC is reporting.

Dozens of residents were evacuated from their homes in the remote town of Carnarvon, some 900 kilometers north of Perth, after a staggering 30 centimeters of rain caused what the Telegraph has called the region's worst flooding in 50 years, damaging crops and cattle stations. Meanwhile, residents in east coast states New South Wales and Victoria experienced a rare "White Christmas"-style start to their holiday week, after a cold spell left up to 10 centimeters of snow covering many of the area's ski resorts, which are usually snow-free this time of year.

"It's white, everything is white," Michelle Lovius, the general manager of the Kosciuszko Chalet Hotel at Charlotte Pass told the AFP. "First thing this morning everything was just very still, very peaceful and every single thing was just blanketed in a thick cover of white." - BBC

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