Very
cold across the nation's central westLight
snow on the NSW Central and Southern TablelandsBushfires
near BrisbaneLight snow and wintry hail showers were reported above about 1000 to 1100 metres from Orange east to the Blue Mountains and south to the Victorian Border. Light snow, enough to settle at times, fell overnight and through the day at Oberon while Blackheath and Katoomba in the Blue Mountains experienced a brief shower of snowflakes around 2pm with the unusually warm temperatures of 5 to 6°. At Orange Airport, the mercury dropped to 3.2° at 1pm as a cold downdraft accompanied a short showshower. At the same time, Thredbo Crackenback reported a temperature of -3.2, while Thredbo Village reported 5cm of snow on the ground at 9am. Large snowflakes were reported at Taralga around midday, while lying snow was seen in higher country around Cooma and Nimmitabel. Wintry hail showers were widespread in the higher country, and disrupted the Bathurst motor races on the higher parts of the Mount Panorama circuit.
Temperatures in the low to mid thirties combined with strong NW winds during the afternoon caused fires to flare up in southeast Queensland. At Elimbah, 50km north of Brisbane, 40 people were evacuated to nearby Caboolture when one blaze threatened their homes. Winds died after the passage of a trough during the early evening, and fires were brought under control.