Heavy snow hits Australian towns in wild weather

Several towns in eastern Australia saw heavy snowfall, the thickest in decades, as a cold air front hit the region earlier this week, causing floods and power outages for thousands of homes.

According to Reuters, Miriam Bradbury from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology said snow reached 40 cm in New South Wales, the most since the mid-1980s, and also fell in Queensland for the first time in 10 years. She noted that climate change has increased weather volatility, but this event remains rare.

The Emergency Service responded to more than 1,455 incidents, with over 100 vehicles stranded, damage to buildings, and flood warnings issued. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported power outages affecting tens of thousands of homes, while police continued searching for a female passenger swept away by floodwaters in New South Wales.