Sydney hail mistaken for snow

Updated: 11:21, Monday, 28 July 2008

It was initially hailed as Sydney's first snowfall in 172 years, but it turned out it was only hail.

1 of 1 Sydney 'Soft hail' was good enough to make a snowman
Sydney
'Soft hail' was good enough to make a snowman

It was initially hailed as Sydney's first snowfall in 172 years, but it turned out yesterday's severe weather was only hail.

Australian locals still managed to go sledding, throw some snowballs and make a snowman (or in this case, hailballs and hailman) today.

Australia's Bureau of Meteorology says what actually fell was 'soft hail' and that conditions were not quite cold enough to produce snow.

The last time Sydney supposedly had a snowfall was 1836 although some scientists believe officials back then just mistook soft hail for snow.

Whatever it was, residents in the Lindfield neighbourhood on Sydney's north shore enjoyed a bit of winter fun.

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