Spring snow has blanketed parts of regional South Australia — with falls in the state's Mid North thick enough for some to start skiing — amid an unusually cold snap at the end of September.
Locals along the state's southern Flinders Ranges awoke to some of the heaviest snow falls seen in the region in years — despite another recent wintry blast which also yielded flurries.
Whyte Yarcowie resident Judy Lewis said she initially could not believe what she was seeing when she noticed a white blanket over her car and front yard.
"I got up to make a coffee and I looked out and I thought, 'What's all that white on the car?'" she said.
"It looked different to ice, which you get when it's frosty.
"Then I looked on the back lawn — there was all white on the back lawn — and I thought, 'Oh, wow, it looks like snow', and then I got up and had another look and it was coming down."
Snow has been reported around Hallett, Belalie North, Canowie and Peterborough in or near the southern Flinders Ranges.
Peterborough resident Ray Hotchin said he had only seen snow once in the town in his 11 years there.
"This one definitely the heaviest," he said.
The cold snap has been triggered by a low pressure system centred near Tasmania, which is directing a very cold south-westerly airstream over South Australia, the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said.
ABC North and West reporter Gabriella Marchant tweeted several videos of the snow, including one of someone skiing, accompanied with the caption: "This is not a drill. People are skiing in South Australia!"
Some Adelaide residents headed up to Mount Lofty near the city early this morning in anticipation of the freezing weather, and were not disappointed.
Duty forecaster Jenny Horvat it had "definitely been cold enough" for snow but said what was spotted at Mount Lofty could have been hail.
"It could be a combination of both," she said.
"It's definitely cold enough for hail and for snow as well up there.
"It's probably the coldest it's been at Mount Lofty all night [at 7:00am] so if it's happening now it's around the time."
BOM senior forecaster Vince Rowlands said snow in SA in September was "pretty unusual" — although it had occasionally snowed in October.
"We don't often get snow in the Mount Lofty Ranges this late in the year," he said.
Widespread hail, rain and strong winds lashed Adelaide overnight and this morning.
The BOM has issued strong wind warnings for coastal waters, while emergency services have been kept busy by fallen trees amid the strong winds.
Power was earlier cut to more than 2,000 homes and businesses in Adelaide's north-eastern suburbs.
SA Power Networks said it was expected to take several hours to fix the fault, which had hit suburbs including Broadview, Sefton Park and Clearview.
