A painting by J Hitchen depicting heavy snowfall on the Adelaide Hills from North Terrace, Adelaide, 1841. Source: B-7070 State Library of South Australia.

Unearthing Australiaโ€™s climate history

Few people realise that snowย was once a common occurrence for southern Australiaโ€™s climate. Historical records help document impacts of past weather extremes such as heatwaves, floods, droughts and even snow. Now scientists are using these fascinating resources to uncover more about Australiaโ€™s climate history and also shed light on modern severe weather events...

The engineers tasked with Adelaideโ€™s first weather observations

In the year 1843, the โ€˜Great March Cometโ€™ with its extremely long tail was splendidly visible from even the daytime skies of the Southern Hemisphere. However in Adelaide, South Australia, there was another reason to look skyward for what in modern times might seem like an unlikely group โ€“ the Royal Engineers. ...