Worst frost since 1977 caused extensive damage to Victorian crops, Australia
Image credit: Frost gate by Christian Collins (Flickr)
A late spring cold snap ripped through western and central Victoria this month, causing extensive agricultural damage. Older farmers in the region say it was 'the worst frost since 1977.'
Agriculture Victoria’s southwest grains regional manager Rob O’Shannessy estimated farmer losses from the frosts at A$100 – 180 million (US$76 – 137 million). This included frost damage this month, as well as earlier, smaller frosts in the North East and northern Wimmera.
However, the figure is expected to climb once losses for Grampians and Pyrenees wine grapes and Swan Hill stonefruit are factored in.
O’Shannessy said the worst-affected area was a region bordered by Tatyoon, Lake Bolac, Skipton, St Arnaud, Kaniva, Warracknabeal, and Stawell.
The first and worst widespread frost hit on November 4. Typical first frost is November 10.
Credit: YYJ Weather Records
"Damage ranges from 10% of the affected crop to 100% wipe-out, depending on topography, moisture and a range of other issues," O’Shannessy said.
"The frosts have been a cruel blow to growers when they were rightly thinking that they were close to harvest and to getting very good yields," he added.
Gorst Rural agronomist Ash Maconachie said older farmers in the region claimed it was 'the worst frost since 1977,' when a bad, late-season frost also hit potentially high-yielding crops.
Teo Blašković founded The Watchers in 2011 and edited it until 2026, covering seismic and volcanic activity, extreme weather, space weather and near-Earth objects. Articles on this page are his archive.
Published in the last 24 hours
- The Leonid meteor shower peaks on the night of November 17, exactly 60 years after the 1966 storm, when some observers reported meteors falling at up to 40 a second, though this year’s show should be closer to 15 an hour
- When Arctic air reached South Florida in January 2020, Miami fell to 40°F and the National Weather Service warned residents to watch for cold-stunned iguanas dropping out of the trees Epicenter
- In May 2024, the strongest solar storm in 20 years put northern lights over the southern US, and across the Plains, GPS-guided tractors built to plant within an inch drifted about 10 feet off their rows Epicenter
- In 1943, a flight instructor in Texas flew a two-seat training plane into the eye of a hurricane because he was curious, then landed and took the base weatherman up for a second pass Epicenter
