Christmas 2006, The Australian.

John Stapleton

FORECASTERS are predicting the first white Christmas in Australia for more than 20 years, with the possibility of snow falls on the central Tasmanian plateau and the higher peaks of the Snowy Mountains.

Monday is expected to be cold and wet across southeast Australia, providing the best possible present for thousands of beleaguered firefighters in Tasmania, Victoria and NSW.

``There might even be enough snow to make a snowman,'' Don White of the consulting firm Weatherwatch said.

The white Christmas was given an uncanny prelude in the New England town of Armidale yesterday, with a summer hail storm shutting down roads into and out of the town, bringing down powerlines, smashing windows and building hail drifts up to half a metre deep.

The Christmas story is reversed for the other side of the country. Perth is expected to be hotter than average, with temperatures soaring towards the 40s throughout the festive season.

Temperatures in Sydney, Melbourne and Hobart are predicted to be significantly below average. But for firefighters in the eastern states, the news could not come at a better time, lasting through the festive season, offering them their best break in weeks and ensuring they will be able to spend time with their families.

Don White, of the consulting firm Weatherwatch, said the wet and cool conditions expected for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day would be caused by a low pressure system in the Tasman pushing up winds from the south across the southeast corner of the country.

The rain and cold expected to delight Victorian firefighters will hit the state late on Saturday, heading north to Sydney the following day. Rain is expected to clear on Boxing Day.

Mr White said temperatures in Melbourne on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day would hit the high teens, well below the average, normally in the mid-20s.

Temperatures in Sydney for Christmas and Boxing Day are also expected to be below normal, reaching into the low 20s. In Adelaide the mercury will settle in the low 20s, and in the mid-teens in Hobart.

In Brisbane Christmas Day is expected to be warm and humid, with a late storm and temperatures, in the high 20s, average for this time of year.

While forecasts for the tropics can be problematic, Christmas Day in Darwin is likely to be hot and humid with a late afternoon storm.

While cool and wet conditions are expected to allow firefighters a Christmas Day at home with their families, the longer term forecast is not promising. The dominant weather patterns, which have created appalling bushfire conditions and made the lives of many farmers so miserable, will persist throughout summer and into early autumn. Mr White said there was not expected to be any major rainfall at least until March.

There is some good news for farmers however. All long-term models indicate a better year than 2006.