Exceptionally cold July weather brings severe frost and further snowfalls across South Australia
Date
12–14 July 1904
Summary / Overview
Another widespread cold spell affected South Australia in mid-July 1904, only weeks after the record cold and snow at the end of June. Northern districts described the preceding week as “phenomenally cold,” while Adelaide experienced cool daytime conditions. The cold was particularly severe in Mount Gambier on 12 July, where the temperature fell below freezing to 30.5°F (-0.8°C), producing widespread ice and hoar frost, while the daytime maximum reached only 51°F (10.6°C). Further snowfalls occurred on 14 July, including a brief covering on hills near the Gorge at Athelstone and a snowstorm around Hallett and the Mount Bryan Ranges. The frequency of snow that winter prompted contemporary discussion about whether South Australia’s climate was becoming colder, although Government Astronomer Sir Charles Todd rejected this interpretation and instead described the winter itself as exceptionally cold.
Meteorological data recorded at the time
Adelaide Observatory: 9 Jul – max. 59.8°F (15.4°C) shade, 110.1°F (43.4°C) sun; 10 Jul – 58.7°F (14.8°C) shade, 113.5°F (45.3°C) sun; 11 Jul – up to 3 p.m., 57.1°F (13.9°C) shade, 108.0°F (42.2°C) sun.
Mount Gambier, 12 Jul: minimum 30.5°F (-0.8°C); 9 a.m. 41.8°F (5.4°C); maximum shade 51°F (10.6°C); maximum sun 72°F (22.2°C).
Severe frost, ice and hoar frost reported.
14 Jul: snow reported near Athelstone/Gorge and around Hallett/Mount Bryan Ranges; no measured snow depth provided.
Historical descriptions / observations
Petersburg Times Tue 12 Jul 1904: ‘The Weather during the past week has been phenomenally cold even for July, the coldest of months in the North’.
The Advertiser (Adelaide) Tue 12 Jul 1904: ‘The maximum readings of the thermometer at the Adelaide Observatory were: On Saturday-In the shade, 59.8 deg.: in the son,’ 110.1 deg. On Sunday In the shade, 58.7 dog; in the sun, 113.5 deg.; and up until 3 p.m. on Monday- In the shade, 57.1 deg.; in the sun, 108.0’
Border Watch (Mount Gambier) Wed 13 Jul 1904: ‘Yesterday [12 July] may not have been the very coldest day of this cold season, but it must have run the coldest very close. There was a severe frost on the previous night, and when people rose yester day morning they found ice plentiful on vessels in yards, etc, and a white hoar-frost covered the ground. The thermometer at the Telegraph office indicated that the lowest temperature had been 30.5°. At 9 a.m. it was 41.8, and the highest temperature in the shade for the day was 51°. In the sun the highest temperature was only 72. The wind blew strong and bitterly cold from the northward…’
The Register (Adelaide) Fri 15 Jul 1904: ‘Athelstone, July 14. A most unusual sight was witnessed near the Gorge this morning, when the hills became clothed with a mantle of snow, which, however, remained only a short time’.
Kapunda Herald Fri 15 Jul 1904: ‘Soon after my arrival at Hallett, the residents were treated to a snowstorm, and as each succeeding flake of snow fell, the complexion of the landscape was altered, and the spectacle presented of sugar gums and other trees and houses, glistening in their damped but natural colors over a floor of pearly whiteness surmounted by fences, and other woodwork transformed seemingly, into masses of swansdown, whilst to the east the Mount Bryan Ranges, lent a background of additional beauty as the snowing ceased, and the sun shone out over fields of glittering whiteness, contrasting with the foliage of the gum trees. The Snowstorm was not of sufficient duration to make a lengthened effect, and the transformation of the landscape to normal was soon accomplished by the wind and sun’.
Kapunda Herald Fri 15 Jul 1904: ‘There has been a belief that the climate of South Australia is getting colder, and the falls of snow during the winter are regarded as evidence of this. Sir Charles Todd, the Government Astronomer, says the occurrence of snow is not an indication of the climate becoming colder, but depended upon many things. He says this winter is exceptionally cold’.
Source
23000