Almost a century ago to this day, Launceston residents awoke to a city blanketed in snow.
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An article from The Examiner on Monday, August 1, 1921 reported it as the heaviest fall in 25 years, as astonished residents watched on as snow fell over the city.
"The fall is stated to be the heaviest experienced in Launceston for over 25 years, there having been a lighter one some eight or nine years ago," the article reads.
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"It was not long before parts of the city were covered with a beautiful white mantle, the heaviest fall being on the high levels, where in a number of places it was thick enough to permit of snowballing.
"The snowflakes fell for about half an hour.
"The surrounding mountains (Ben Lomond, Barrow, and Arthur), which were heavily cloaked with white, were a magnificent sight yes-yesterday, and also on Saturday, while the Cataract Hill and Trevallyn made also an impressive picture."
It was similar to the experience felt by many Launceston residents on Wednesday, August 5, 2020, with waking up to a winter wonderland in their backyards.
Bureau of Meteorology supervising meteorologist Simon Louis said the most comparable event was the snowfall of 1921, adding it was quite rare to see snow falling in the CBD and even rarer to see it settling on the ground.
The 1921 edition of The Examiner also highlighted the extreme weather felt in Hobart, with a heavy snow storm also hitting the city the previous Saturday night.
According to the article, and several of the oldest residents, it was the heaviest snow recorded in the city's history.
"At about 11 o'clock last night white flakes were observed floating about in the air, and from midnight onward tho fall was steady and uninterrupted," the article reads.
"When the populate awakened this morning a chilling, but distinctly beautiful ecene met their eyes.
"The surrounding hills and house tops were decked in mantles of white, the fences were loaded and not a particle of ground was visible."
Read the Launceston article in full here:
SNOWFALL IN CITY MAKES NEWS IN 1921
The following article was printed in The Examiner on August 1, 1921 on Page 5.
The headlines read: Heaviest Fall for 25 years, A beautiful white mantle, bitterly cold weather.
The story was as follows:
It is quite a novelty to see snow in Launceston, and it was with interest and astonishment that residents watched a comparatively heavy fall between 10 and 11 o'clock yesterday morning.
The fall is stated to be the heaviest experienced in Launceston for over 25 years, there having been a lighter one some eight or nine years ago.
It was not long before parts of the city were covered with a beautiful white mantle, the heaviest fall being on the high levels, where in a number of places it was thick enough to permit of snowballing.
The snowflakes fell for about half an hour.
The surrounding mountains (Ben Lomond, Barrow, and Arthur), which were heavily cloaked with white, were a magnificent sight yes-yesterday, and also on Saturday, while the Cataract Hill and Trevallyn made also an impressive picture.
A fall of five inches was reported from Hobart, and heavy sleet was met with along the Conara St. Marys road, which was also coated with snow.
Snow fell on the North-West Coast, the day at Latrobe being the coldest that had been experienced for a period of years, so that it is evident that the fall was fairly general over the island.
Throughout yesterday in the city the weather was fine, but bleak, and the wind bitterly cold.