Winter comes early down under: Earliest recorded snowfall in Western Australia

It is the earliest recorded snow event in the state’s history.

Western Australia’s south-west received an unexpected surprise on Good Friday, with snowfall on Bluff Knoll in the Stirling Ranges.

A flurry was recorded on the peak, the highest point in the Stirling Ranges, about 100 kilometres north of Albany, after 2:00pm on Friday.

It is the earliest recorded snow eventin a calendar year in the state’s history.

The last recorded fall before this time was April 20, 1970, according to Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) records.

Dozens of hikers made the trek up the 1099-metre tall Bluff Knoll on Friday, which generally records light snow a couple of times each winter but rarely in April.