AI artist turns Sydney streetscapes and landmarks into snowy dream

Sydney is a very hilly city – but could you imagine sledding down one of its many slopes in the downtown area?

How about a crunch of hard frost underfoot walking down to Bondi Beach? Or snow blanketing the sails of the Opera House?

An anonymous Instagram user calling themselves Unwritten Stories has delighted tens of thousands of social media users with their AI-generated* video based on the question, “What if it snowed in Sydney?”

The 25-second video shows a range of imagined scenes, from snowflakes falling on the steps leading to the Art Gallery of NSW, to the icy Cahill Expressway underneath the famed steel arches of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

For those wishing the whimsical* scenes would become reality, there’s bad news from the Bureau of Meteorology*, whose long-range forecast* does not support a winter cold enough for snow to fall in the NSW capital.

From June to August 2025, the Bureau has predicted “warmer than average” days and nights with “unusually” high daytime temperatures on Australia’s east coast.

There has, however, been a time where snow was reported in the Harbour City. According to the State Library of NSW, there was a “slight fall” of snow recorded in June 1836 for 30 minutes and a further small flurry the following year.

DOES SNOW FALL IN OTHER AUSTRALIAN CAPITALS?
Yes and no. Australia’s national capital, Canberra, sees snowfall every few years, the heaviest being in 1929 and 1949, when newspapers reported falls of up to around 13cm, according to the ABC.

Snow may also have fallen in Queensland’s capital Brisbane in 1984 and 1958, but those reports remain unconfirmed. A likely snowfall is thought to have occurred in 1882. The nearby town of Clifton — at an elevation* of just above 400m — recorded about 6cm on July 27 that year, which suggests the snow reported by the Brisbane Courier newspaper the same day was accurate.

The Australian winter of 1882 must have been a bitter one, because snow was also reported that July way down south in Victoria’s capital Melbourne.

Melbourne’s eastern suburbs do see a light drift annually, but the last citywide snowfall was back in July 1986, and before that there was only a short-lived snowfall in July 1951.

Snow falls regularly during Tasmanian winters, but the last fall in the Hobart capital was a decade ago in August 2015. Before that, the last major fall was also in 1986.

Over in South Australia, there is no record of snow falling in the centre of Adelaide, although the ABC report states that a 1951 newspaper article mentioned snowfall in suburban Golden Grove, which has an elevation of 200m.

Those who dread the arrival of winter may want to head due west across the Nullarbor Plain to Perth, where there have been zero confirmed snowfalls in the West Australian capital.

Even better, the Northern Territory capital Darwin’s coldest recorded temperature was a balmy* 10.4 degrees, so there’s no need to pack snow-boots next time you head to the Top End. Still, the NT can lay claim to the most surprising snow history, which must surely belong to Uluru, where it snowed on July 11, 1997. While not a capital city, we’re giving the sacred Red Centre an honourable mention as the ancient heart of Australia.

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GLOSSARY

• AI-generated: any content, including text, image, video or audio, created by artificial intelligence models in computer software
• whimsical: fanciful, quaint, appealing and playful
• Bureau of Meteorology: Australia’s national agency responsible for providing weather, climate, water, and ocean services
• long-range forecast: in Australia, these include the next week to three monthly maximum and minimum temperatures, rainfall and streamflow
• elevation: geographically, elevation is the height above sea level
• balmy: pleasantly warm

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QUICK QUIZ

1. What famous Sydney landmarks are mentioned in the story as appearing in the video?
2. What will be unusual about the weather on the east coast this winter, according to the Bureau?
3. When did it snow in Sydney and approximately how long did the snow fall?
4. What is the lowest recorded temperature in the NT capital Darwin?
5. How many times has snowfall been recorded in Perth?

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CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. What is it like?
What does snow feel and look like? Write as many words and phrases that describe snow for someone who has never experienced it. Use your research skills and your imagination if you have never experienced snow!

Time: allow at least 25 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English

2. Extension
What do you think would really happen if it suddenly snowed heavily where you live? Write a story or description of the fun parts, but also the problems that this could cause.

Time: allow at least 45 minutes to complete this activity.
Curriculum Links: English, Science

VCOP ACTIVITY
Creative vocabulary
Find a bland sentence from the article to up-level. Can you add more detail and description? Can you replace any ‘said’ words with more specific synonyms?

Have you outdone yourself and used some really great vocabulary throughout your writing? Firstly, well done. Secondly, let’s ensure everyone can understand it by adding a glossary of terms. Pick three of your wow words and create a glossary for each word to explain what it means.