Snow again in Western Australia?
South West WA got snow at Easter this year, a remarkable event, and then snow a week ago with predictions of more — which maybe fell on July 5. Concerned that two or three* bouts of snow didn’t fit the narrative, the ABC and BOM suddenly found an interest in our historic weather archives:
Snow has been falling in Western Australia since records began
Australian snow is usually associated with the alpine region of the east coast, but the fluffy white stuff has been falling in Western Australia since records began in 1846.
- It is estimated that Western Australia experiences an average 1.7 snow events annually
- This could be more as meteorologists do not have an observational system to record them
- The Bureau of Meteorology have said there could be another snow event this weekend at Bluff Knoll as a cold front approaches the south of WA
What the ABC never seem to report:
Heatwaves have been happening in Western Australia since records began
50 degrees? It’s occurred all over Australia and many times
125F in Geraldton. The Chronicle newspaper, Trove, Jan 11 1896
When it’s hot, it’s proof of a climate crisis, when it’s cold, it’s all happened before.
Let’s not forget the BOM lost the coldest ever April record for Albany this year (near Bluff Knoll). Accidentally adjusted up by 15 degrees C.
Put away those ideas it might be snowing more, it’s just a facebook thing, eh?
The rise of social media
Reports of snow have significantly increased since 1846 but that is not to said (sic) it is snowing more, it might just be people’s fascination with touching the fluffy white stuff. Mr Bennett said the advent of social media meant people were getting out, taking pictures of the snow and the result may have led to an increase in record numbers.
How many heatwaves, fires and droughts would have been recorded in 1850 if they had “social media”? We’ll never know, and the ABC will never ask.
It’s easy to predict if a science story will get published on the ABC. Ask the question:
Will this help elect the kind of people who give the ABC more money?
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PS: Weekend Fun. Who knew Bluff Knoll in WA is listed in a “ski resorts” report?
You can find out handy live data like today it has 0mm of snow and “0 out of 0 lifts open.”
Jonas from Australia comments on the ski page:
Don’t listen to these locals who just want to scare away skiers to keep the slopes to themselves. The fact is Bluff Knoll provides the best snow conditions anywhere for thousands of kilometres and ski conditions were supreme last ice age!
*The Snow report of 1cm of July 5 was predicted by their weather models. I can find no confirmation that it happened.