Australia is set for the coldest winter on record, an amateur weather forecaster has claimed. Pictured: Mount Buller, Victoria
Temperatures and snowfall could reach shocking levels compared to previous years, said David Taylor, who runs the East Coast Weather Facebook page.
Mr Taylor, who has correctly predicted major weather events in the past, said that the icy conditions would impact huge areas of the country.
'It will be slightly cooler than normal in the north but the real cold will be in the southern states and southeast Queensland,' he told The Cairns Post.
'I wouldn't be surprised if there is snow in places where it hasn't snowed for a long time.'
Mr Taylor has explained that his forecast formula uses changes in sunspot activity, along with Global Forecast System modelling, and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecast.
Mr Taylor said tracking sunspot activity has enabled him to successfully predict weather events in the past.
He was lauded for correctly predicting that 600mm of rain would fall in Townsville on February 28.
He said weather systems were susceptible to the 'butterfly effect' in which seemingly small changes can have vast and far reaching outcomes.
Mr Taylor also predicted a 'decent cyclone' would cross the Queensland coast between Cairns and Gladstone this week.
'It's looking pretty scary,' he said.
Comment: If the extreme cold witnessed this winter in the northern hemisphere is anything to go by, and he isn't be the first weather forecaster to use space weather in his calculations, then it wouldn't be surprising if his predictions came to pass. It's clear we are seeing serious cooling on our planet: