Snow, shivers descend on sunshine state

Queensland's Granite Belt has been blanketed in snow, while citygoers have shivered through chilly gusts, as a cold snap hit the sunshine state.

A snowman makes an appearance on a property in the Queensland town of Stanthorpe, transformed into a winter wonderland.

A snowman in the Queensland town of Stanthorpe from the previous cold snap.

Winter has come, even to Queensland.

The sunshine state was blanketed in uncharacteristic snow overnight, with southern regions experiencing the best snowfall in 31 years.

It blanketed Stanthorpe, Applethorpe and Eukey in the early hours of Friday morning, sending Granite Belt residents scurrying outside in pyjamas to lap up the wintry weather.

It was the second round of snow in less than a week in Eukey, which copped a light dusting on Monday.

Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Jess Carey said between 5cm and 8cm had fallen near Stanthorpe.

While snow generally fell in the region every couple of years, this year's coating was a memorable one, he said.

"We haven't seen snow like this in 30 years," he told AAP.

"People talk about the 1984 event - it really is the most significant since then."

Stanthorpe local Michael Hilton said he was in awe when he ventured outside just after 3am.

"I missed the 1984 snow. I've never ever, ever seen anything like this in my life. It's just like a winter wonderland," he told ABC Radio.

Other residents enjoyed snowball fights and built snowmen in the town centre, sharing their handiwork on social media.

In the state's capital, citygoers also shivered even though temperatures didn't dip below historic lows for this time of year.

But strong winds meant the cold blast felt chillier than it really was, Mr Carey said.

"The wind chill - the `feels like' temperature - has barely gotten over 10 degrees today," he said.

"As in, it feels like 10.9 but it's 15.5."

The cold air squeezed through a high pressure system from the Great Australian Bight and an east coast low off the NSW coast.

While it's likely to warm up across the weekend, another cold snap isn't entirely off the cards.

"There's still another six weeks of winter yet," Mr Carey said.


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Source: AAP


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