# Does any city in the Southern Hemisphere get snow? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 13, 2012, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-any-city-in-the-southern-hemisphere-get-snow/640911 "2012-11-13T19:37:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-any-city-in-the-southern-hemisphere-get-snow/640911/1 "2012-11-13T19:37:52Z")
I was looking at a map of average July temperatures in the Southern Hemisphere and it looks like even southern Patagonia has winters that we in the North might think of as relatively mild. I expect a lot of Southern Hemisphere mountaintops get pretty snowy (even Kilimanjaro, 3 degrees south of the equator, has snow), but are there any actual cities where a snow shovel is a common household implement? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-any-city-in-the-southern-hemisphere-get-snow/640911/2 "2012-11-13T19:42:58Z")
The area around Canberra, the Australian capital, sometimes gets snow. It’s not clear from [this story](http://www.canberratimes.com.au/environment/weather/cold-wild-weather-brings-late-snow-to-canberra-region-20121012-27ggv.html) if snow actually fell in Canberra itself, but it did in neighboring cities like Goulburn NSW. [Christchurch](http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/7049818/Wintry-blast-moves-north) in New Zealand also gets snow. ---
**Author:** ![lawbuff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/13edae/32.png) [@lawbuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawbuff)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-any-city-in-the-southern-hemisphere-get-snow/640911/3 "2012-11-13T19:43:35Z")
Any place outside the Torrid Zone can get snow, whether in the Northern Temperate Zone, or the Southern Temperate zone. ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-any-city-in-the-southern-hemisphere-get-snow/640911/4 "2012-11-13T19:54:09Z")
Not really for a couple of reasons. Most maps you see are in Mercator projection, which stretches out the Northern Hemisphere. There’s not a lot of land between 55 South and Antarctica anyhow. So the ‘sourthernmost cities’ aren’t really that southern. Take [Dunedin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunedin#Climate) for example, which sits at 45 degrees 52’ South - thus roughly the antipode of Bordeaux. While you’ll get the occasional snowfall in Dunedin every winter it seldom settles, and when it does it’s pretty cool. The average July low in Dunedin is 3.2 C (37.8 F) which is pretty mild by Northern standards. Allied to that the southerly cities aren’t part of big continents and the moderating influence ocean plays a big role as well. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-any-city-in-the-southern-hemisphere-get-snow/640911/5 "2012-11-13T19:58:10Z")
It’s probably unlikely; most Southern hemisphere major cities are around 34 degrees south latitude, which is more or less that of Dallas, only in the other hemisphere, and Dallas gets snow maybe once or twice a year. I’d think New Zealand or maybe Hobart, Tasmania would be the best bets. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-any-city-in-the-southern-hemisphere-get-snow/640911/6 "2012-11-13T20:04:32Z")
Ushuaia, Argentina got two feet of snow this June [http://tv.ibtimes.com/southern-argentina-braves-worst-snowfall-1995-4733](http://tv.ibtimes.com/southern-argentina-braves-worst-snowfall-1995-4733) ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-any-city-in-the-southern-hemisphere-get-snow/640911/7 "2012-11-13T20:12:32Z")
I think you’re writing off Patagonia too quickly. The ski resort towns are still towns after all. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-any-city-in-the-southern-hemisphere-get-snow/640911/8 "2012-11-13T20:13:31Z")
I’ve been in the [City of Blue Mountains](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_Blue_Mountains) when it snowed. This is an outer-suburban part of Sydney, and my family was staying in a part called [Leura](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leura,_New_South_Wales) which is nearly 1,000 metres above sea level. I don’t think it snows there every year, but when we were there they had enough snow to close the main western highway out of Sydney for about a day. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-any-city-in-the-southern-hemisphere-get-snow/640911/9 "2012-11-13T20:16:21Z")
There was plenty of snow in [Stanley](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley,_Falkland_Islands) last year. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-any-city-in-the-southern-hemisphere-get-snow/640911/10 "2012-11-13T20:16:27Z")
> [@lisiate](#): > > Take [Dunedin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunedin#Climate) for example, which sits at 45 degrees 52’ South - thus roughly the antipode of Bordeaux. While you’ll get the occasional snowfall in Dunedin every winter it seldom settles, and when it does it’s pretty cool. The average July low in Dunedin is 3.2 C (37.8 F) which is pretty mild by Northern standards. I visited Dunedin in fall 2011 and was amused to note books and [pictures](http://www.sharps.ws/blog/2011/07/25/830/) celebrating the [“great snow storm”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_New_Zealand_snowstorms) of 2011. (It even has its own wikipedia page!) It was pretty mild by Northern mid-continent standards. ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-any-city-in-the-southern-hemisphere-get-snow/640911/11 "2012-11-13T20:20:48Z")
Yep, we go nuts about a foot of snow falling on a New Zealand city. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-any-city-in-the-southern-hemisphere-get-snow/640911/12 "2012-11-13T20:38:42Z")
> [@Erdosain](#): > > I think you’re writing off Patagonia too quickly. The ski resort towns are still towns after all. I offer you [Trevelin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trevelin), Argentina: in the foothyolls of thew Andes, wiuth a light annual snowfall, and partially Welsh-speaking. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-any-city-in-the-southern-hemisphere-get-snow/640911/13 "2012-11-13T21:00:44Z")
> [@lisiate](#): > > Take [Dunedin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunedin#Climate) for example, which sits at 45 degrees 52’ South - thus roughly the antipode of Bordeaux. It’s also at about the same relative latitude as Minneapolis, MN (44 degrees 59’ North), which gets an fair amount of snow (45" a year), but illustrates the effect of being in the center of a continent, as you note. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-any-city-in-the-southern-hemisphere-get-snow/640911/14 "2012-11-13T21:09:37Z")
> [@bump](#): > > It’s probably unlikely; most Southern hemisphere major cities are around 34 degrees south latitude, which is more or less that of Dallas, only in the other hemisphere, and Dallas gets snow maybe once or twice a year. > > I’d think New Zealand or maybe Hobart, Tasmania would be the best bets. When I visited Hobart in July of '93, there was a day or two where they had about two inches of snow. From what I recall, it was an unusual occurrence and really slowed the city down, so it wouldn’t pass the OP’s “snow shovel is a common household implement” test. ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-any-city-in-the-southern-hemisphere-get-snow/640911/15 "2012-11-13T21:11:16Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > I offer you [Trevelin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trevelin), Argentina: in the foothyolls of thew Andes, wiuth a light annual snowfall, and partially Welsh-speaking. Welsh spelling too I see. What’s the population cut off to be a city though? Stanley is only about 2,500 and Trevelin just over 6,000. I’d say at least 30,000 so Ushuaia (56,000) makes it. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-any-city-in-the-southern-hemisphere-get-snow/640911/16 "2012-11-13T21:51:56Z")
As a related question, is there anywhere further north than the UK where snow shovels are _not_ common household implements? Based on the Met Office [map of average number of days with lying snow](http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/averages/8110_1km/SnowLying_Average_1981-2010_17.gif), even Glasgow and Edinburgh see very little snow despite being above 55 degrees north. (Bear in mind that “snow lying” for these maps simply means \>50% cover at 9am on a given day.) ---
**Author:** ![sweat209](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@sweat209](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweat209)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-any-city-in-the-southern-hemisphere-get-snow/640911/17 "2012-11-13T22:22:35Z")
I think most places in southern US get snow but nothing like the north closer to Canada.If it snows today the next day it all gone because it much warmer. Where California ,Florida ,New Mexico ,Arizona ,Texas and Louisiana get some what cold meaning to cold to go out t-shirt but to hot in parka Jacket. Most people just wear sweatshirt. You don’t even turn heat on in your house in those states. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-any-city-in-the-southern-hemisphere-get-snow/640911/18 "2012-11-13T22:57:32Z")
I lived in Canberra as a teen. It snowed there. Once. In five years. ---
**Author:** ![Yeticus\_Rex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a698b9/32.png) [@Yeticus\_Rex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeticus_Rex)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-any-city-in-the-southern-hemisphere-get-snow/640911/19 "2012-11-13T23:53:25Z")
> [@sweat209](#): > > I think most places in southern US get snow but nothing like the north closer to Canada.If it snows today the next day it all gone because it much warmer. Actually, the more mountainous areas have and keep more snow longer than the plains of the US and Canada. Latitude is only one factor, elevation is another factor, and of moisture is the other. Some mountains in California have snow on them all year, and there are [some glaciers in the Sierra Nevadas, Mt. Lassen, Mt. Shasta and the Trinity Alps](http://glaciers.research.pdx.edu/glaciers-california). [Some places in California have more snow in one day](http://www.thestormking.com/Weather/Sierra_Snowfall/sierra_snowfall.html) than other northern plain states/provinces all year. I even have skied on snow in the Sierras on the 4th of July weekend! > [@](#): > > Where California ,Florida ,New Mexico ,Arizona ,Texas and Louisiana get some what cold meaning to cold to go out t-shirt but to hot in parka Jacket. Most people just wear sweatshirt. > > You don’t even turn heat on in your house in those states. I’m not going to speak for Florida or Louisiana, but California, Arizona and New Mexico are way too climatology diverse (especially in California) for such a broad-brush statement. I remember back in 1969, tunneling our way into my grandfather’s 2-story condo covered in 20 feet of snow in Mammoth, spending New Year’s Eve (2010-1) in the Grand Canyon (village) when it was -29F with about 18 inches of snow on the ground (and with only a sweatshirt and Levi’s on…arrgh). Even in the High Desert of California, it freezes and we can get snow almost annually…had close to a foot just a few short years ago (Dec. 17-18, 2008). ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-any-city-in-the-southern-hemisphere-get-snow/640911/20 "2012-11-14T00:07:53Z")
Whereabouts is the equator in **sweat209** and **Yeticus Rex** ’s world? Even Honolulu is about 20 degrees north. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-any-city-in-the-southern-hemisphere-get-snow/640911.md?page=2)