'Snow' hits Byron Bay in rare weather event: 'Very dramatic'
The usually tropical beachside town of Bryon Bay was hit with an intense hailstorm on Tuesday night which left footpaths and roads blanketed by a layer of thick ice.
Residents were left stunned by the aftermath of the unusual weather event which one resident described as "a very dramatic ending to a seriously memorable day weather-wise".
The hailstorm pummelled the seaside town at around 5pm. But despite being brief, the storm had a lasting effect on locals who were dumbfounded by the snow-like setting.
Photos and videos shared online show footpaths covered by ice after 10cm of hail settled on the ground, according to reports.
'Extremely uncommon' in the area
Aline Fibeilo, a meteorologist for Weatherzone, told Yahoo News Australia the storm was extremely uncommon. So much so it's unlikely to happen again in the area.
The thunderstorm was a result of two air masses meeting over Mullumbimby, to the north of Byron Bay, which is unusual in the region at this time of year.
A trough off the Queensland coast brought some tropical moisture south which met with a cold air mass moving up from the south, generating a thunderstorm.
The heavy hail followed 32mm of rain, which is a lot, Ms Fibeilo explained, with temperatures dropping to a chilly 10 degrees.
Byron local Geoff Bensley told Daily Mail Australia that he's lived in the area for almost 60 years and has only ever seen hail that severe once before in 2012.
Fortunately, there appears to be no reports of damages done to cars or property.
Aussies to be hit with freezing conditions
The Byron Bay area has copped an unprecedented amount of rain this year with much of the area being heavily impacted by flooding.
The east coast of Australia is expected to be hit with more freezing conditions this week as a cold snap travels north from Tasmania stretching all the way to the Queensland border.
Temperatures are set to drop again overnight with widespread frost on Thursday and Friday, the Bureau of Meteorology warned.
Current temperatures across #NSWWeather. Colder today and expecting a further drop for maximum temperatures tomorrow while overnight temperatures to get colder in the second half of the week, widespread frost Thursday and Friday 🥶 Check Forecasts: https://t.co/SPHgGeisGZ pic.twitter.com/8G4anEVlLK
— Bureau of Meteorology, New South Wales (@BOM_NSW) July 12, 2022
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