Source: Bill Shrapnel/Colmar Estate/AP

HEAVY SNOWFALL HAS hit parts of Australia in what has been described as the coldest July weather in four decades.

It came as a surprise in particular in Queensland which is known as the ‘Sunshine State’.

The Guardian reports the snow has fallen in parts of the country where this type of weather is so rare that they do not have the tools to measure it.

And people just don’t know what to do with it…

Here's my wife's shot of our yard in Blackheath at about 5am, its even thicker now. pic.twitter.com/XQzIEJoyy4 — Blackheath Weather (@BlackheathWx) July 16, 2015 Source: Blackheath Weather /Twitter

Residents of the Granite Belt have woken to white winter wonderland. 8cm of snow has fallen http://t.co/QvPY5BGOIY pic.twitter.com/FyNhi03c8Z — Kim Stephens (@kimbo_stephens) July 16, 2015 Source: Kim Stephens /Twitter

Welcome to @Queensland , we currently have some technical issues, Weather shall be fixed in 6 months.

@MiladyEly pic.twitter.com/2rVXuVQcev — Kat (@KatRose1997) July 17, 2015 Source: Kat /Twitter

Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology said the snowstorms are due to a low pressure system that moved a cold air mass in off the coast of New South Wales. It also said there are “more freezing nights to come”.

Meanwhile in Ireland…

Source: weather.com