Two Weeks Before Summer, It's Snow-vember

Newcastle Herald

Friday November 17, 2006

By INGRID BOWN with AAP

A BLAST of Antarctic weather plunged the Hunter back into winter yesterday, causing wet and wild conditions across the region and a blanket of snow on the Barrington Tops.

A day after snow fell in Tasmania, Victoria and southern NSW, it was the turn of the rest of NSW and southern Queensland for freakish wintry conditions two weeks before summer.

Snow was the talk of Ballandean in Queensland yesterday.

"The whole town has been talking about it and everybody's ringing, 'Did you see snow?' " resident Leeanne Puglisi-Gangemi said.

In the Hunter, yesterday was the coldest November day for at least a decade as a polar air mass arrived late on Wednesday night, the Bureau of Meteorology said.

The mercury at Nobbys reached a high of just 15.5 degrees yesterday.

A National Parks spokeswoman said 2.5 centimetres of snow settled on the Barrington Tops overnight and continued falling until 11am.

The lowest temperature in the Hunter yesterday was 4.6 degrees at Murrurundi at 6am.

Nobbys had a low of 8.8 at 8.30am, shy of the lowest November minimum of 7.2.

The State Emergency Service responded to 122 calls across 47 Hunter suburbs to midnight Wednesday and another 25 as of late yesterday.

Most were for roof damage and fallen trees in winds up to 85kmh, SES deputy region controller Ken Speer said.

Today's outlook for Newcastle is for a 21-degree maximum, with the chance of showers. Tomorrow and Sunday wil be fine, with a maximum of 25. with AAP

HIGHS AND LOWS

Yesterday's temperatures

WILLIAMTOWN

8.5?-15.8?

SCONE

8.9?-17.8?

GOSFORD

7.2?-16.6?

MURRURUNDI

4.6?-13.5?

NOBBYS

8.8?-15.5?

TOCAL

10.5?-18

© 2006 Newcastle Herald

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