Weather
In a country better known for sun-soaked beaches and scorching summers, Australians have been bundling up—especially in Queensland, a state in northeastern Australia often nicknamed the “Sunshine State” due to its typically mild, subtropical climate. But this week, Queenslanders have faced a startling shift, as freezing temperatures swept far into the tropics, breaking decades-old cold records and delivering a frosty reality check to the nation’s warm-weather image.
According to the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM), Oakey, located on the Darling Downs about two hours west of Brisbane, recorded the lowest temperature in the state in the 24 hours to 9 a.m. Thursday, a bone-chilling –4.2°C (24.4°F). In the state capital Brisbane, the mercury dipped to 6.5°C (43.7°F)—its coldest June morning in 11 years and the coldest temperature recorded so far in 2025.
More remarkably, several towns north of the Tropic of Capricorn—squarely within Australia’s tropical zone—dropped below freezing, a highly unusual event for the region:
- Mount Isa recorded –0.7°C (30.7°F) — its coldest June night in 44 years.
- Richmond reached –0.1°C (31.8°F), the lowest June temperature in 25 years, and its first sub-zero temperature in any month in 13 years.
- Winton hit 0.0°C (32°F) — its first freezing night in 22 years, just months after the town was hit by a record-breaking tropical deluge.
These temperatures highlight an extraordinary polar push into typically warm inland regions. A low-pressure system in the Tasman Sea and a strong high-pressure ridge over central Australia have worked together to bring clear skies and dry air—the perfect ingredients for radiative cooling and overnight frost.
Meanwhile, further south, Australia’s ski resorts in New South Wales and Victoria are celebrating a strong start to the 2025 winter season, with 65 to 71 centimeters (25.6 to 28 inches) of natural snowfall blanketing slopes during the King’s Birthday Long Weekend (June 7–9). With cold air entrenched, snowmaking conditions have also been optimal and Mt Buller, Falls Creek, Thredbo, and Perisher have announced to be opening more lifts and terrain from tomorrow and Saturday.
Meteorologists expect the cold pattern to linger through the weekend before a gradual warming trend sets in. But even that, forecasters say, won’t bring immediate relief. Meanwhile, more snowfall is forecast for the Snowy Mountains from Sunday, June 15.
For American readers unfamiliar with Australia’s winter, it’s worth noting that June marks the beginning of the coldest seasonin the Southern Hemisphere—but scenes of frost-covered gardens and frozen tools are still rare in tropical parts of Queensland. This week’s historic chill has not only stunned locals—it’s challenged long-held perceptions about what winter means in Australia’s Sunshine State.
