Icy weather hits hard in Granite Belt
MOTHER Nature wound back the season and delivered an icy blast to the Granite Belt late last week.
Temperatures plummeted and parts of the region experienced sleet as well as light falls of snow.
Weatherzone meteorologist Ben McBurney said the freezing weather was not just unseasonable but also rare.
"It was quite a remarkable system especially for the middle of October," he said.
"It is unusual to see snow on the Granite Belt even during winter time."
Mr McBurney said the weather was caused by a blast of freezing air moving north from Antarctica.
"We had a very cold upper air mass combine with a cold front stretching from Victoria into New South Wales and Queensland," he said.
"The Granite Belt experienced snow and sleet and areas in the Blue Mountains had the heaviest single fall of snow in 20 years."
Mr McBurney said there was no need to re-stock the woodpile though with warmer weather on the way.
"We are moving into warmer months now and the current trend is headed towards much warmer weather," he said.
"The next week should be warm across the whole country."
Mr McBurney said after pulling winter warm clothes back out of storage it was time to put them away again on the Granite Belt.
"There is a hot air mass moving towards the Granite Belt from the west and people should notice warmer days as the week progresses," he said.
