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Key Points
- Australia’s ski resorts are set to officially open this long weekend.
- Snow could fall for four days across southern Australia.
- Low temperatures and icy winds are also predicted.
NSW and Victoria’s ski slopes are forecast to receive a dump of snow, with poor conditions for snow sports, as they officially open this weekend, amid wet and icy weather hitting parts of southern and eastern Australia.
Polar air from sub-Antarctic waters is expected to bring days of below-average temperatures for the country’s south as many Australians mark the King’s birthday long weekend.
Snow is expected to fall for around four days in alpine regions and be widespread across central Victoria and NSW, potentially falling in the Blue Mountains, Orange, and Canberra as well.
Patch Clapp, community information officer at the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM), said snowfall would start from Friday.
“Over the course of Friday to Tuesday, at least 20 to 30 centimetres of snow should accumulate at the alpine resorts for the first weekend of the snow season, with snow possible generally every day from Friday to Tuesday,” he said.
“Weather conditions over the weekend will not be great for snow sports. Successive cold fronts and a low-pressure system will lead to a wet and windy long weekend,” Clapp said.
While Friday will feel chillier after a warm autumn, the main cold front is expected to arrive on Saturday night and sweep across parts of South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, and NSW, the BoM said.
On Sunday, maximum temperatures are expected to remain in the single digits — Melbourne will reach a top of about 9 degrees, with high winds making the ‘feels like’ temperature even lower.
After an exceptionally dry 12 months creating difficult drought conditions, south-west Victoria is forecast to receive between 25 and 50mm of rain between Saturday and Tuesday.
Parts of southern South Australia can also expect rain after some of the driest conditions on record.
Adelaide is expected to receive its heaviest rainfall since 2023, with up to 40mm potentially falling.
The BoM has issued warnings for strong north-westerly winds ahead of the approaching cold front and could reissue warnings for areas of the coast and ranges when the storm moves up.
Gusts could exceed 100km/h near the South Australia-Victoria border.
