Latest news with #skiSeason
News.com.au
3 days ago
- Climate
- News.com.au
‘Absolutely dumping': More than 40cm of snow kickstarts NSW ski season
Ski resorts across the NSW Snowy Mountains have been blanketed by a whopping 45cm of snow, in a strong start to the official ski season. Perisher ski resort recorded 25cm of fresh snow falling overnight and continuing to fall, bringing the long-weekend total to 45cm. More snow was expected to fall on Sunday across the range, with a north-westerly wind and temperatures topping only -1C. The snowfall comes at a welcome time for the ski resorts after a difficult few years, with Perisher posting on social media that Saturday night was an 'absolutely dumping'. The Bureau of Meteorology was reporting snowfall in the Australian Alps on Sunday above 900m as a high in Western Australia brought strong winds to north NSW. Meanwhile, a cold front was sweeping across southern NSW, with several more fronts expected to follow before a high-pressure ridge settles over NSW next week. The early season dusting was quick to light up social media, with people commenting that it was an 'amazing weekend' and a 'great start' to the ski season. Thredbo ski resort was forecasting a high chance of snow on Monday, with Sunday's dusting having blanketed the ski fields nestled into Mt Kosciuszko. Across the border, Mt Hotham resort reported a whopping 51cm of snow so far a storm there, with 32cm falling in the past 24 hours. Snow was still lightly falling at the resort on Sunday morning, with the temperature dipping to a frigid -3C. The NSW snow season ended earlier for the second year in a row in 2024 after one of the warmest winters on record. The Bureau reported above average winter mean temperatures across the state, in particular in the south and parts of the east coast.
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Climate
- The Guardian
Wintery long weekend to deliver snowy start to Australia's ski season
The King's birthday long weekend could be the snowiest start to an Australian ski season in years, forecasters predict. Weatherzone said up to 70cm of snow could accumulate at the higher resorts by Tuesday evening, with at least 15cm to 30cm at lower resorts. A strong cold front in the Great Australian Bight will move in overnight, weatherzone meteorologists said, bringing with it dumps of snow. Jonathan How, from the Bureau of Meteorology, said south-east Australia can expect 'very cold' and windy conditions over the three-day weekend. Melbourne is forecast for a high of 15C on Saturday and a low of 6C on Monday. The weekend in Sydney should be mostly sunny with possible showers, with expectations of a high of 19C on Saturday followed by 8C on Monday, the bureau said. On Friday, a severe weather warning was issued for South Australia and south-west Victoria. Rain is predicted to break a record drought for the region. Damaging winds could top 90km/h on Friday, impacting parts of Victoria, including the Otway ranges and Mornington Peninsula. Gusts are predicted to increase and move into South Australia on Friday afternoon, reaching Adelaide and the Mount Lofty ranges. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email The strong winds will continue on Saturday through Victoria and SA, the bureau said. The coldest weather will arrive in a second cold front, which will reach SA potentially on Sunday morning, bringing thunderstorms and hail. Adelaide has a predicted high of 17C on Saturday and low of 6C on Monday. Melbourne will not be impacted by the damaging winds on Friday, but the city will experience a strong wind chill and showers that will also reach the Yarra Valley and Macedon Ranges. The cold front will move into south-east NSW by Friday evening. How cautioned black ice will pose a risk over the weekend across NSW and Victoria. 'Take care if you are heading up to the slopes this weekend for the snow,' he said. Snow showers are predicted across the alps of Victoria and NSW, with snow levels in those regions predicted to drop to 1,500m by Friday. Snow levels will fall further on Saturday to about 1,150m. How said he expected high snow accumulation between 30cm and 70cm around alpine ski resorts, with the potential to move to lower regions. 'We may even see some blizzard conditions across some of those alpine peaks,' he said. On Sunday, snow levels are expected to fall to 800m in Victoria and NSW and 900m in western Victoria, including the Grampians. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion In Tasmania the snow level is predicted to drop to 1,000m on Saturday. Hobart is set for a chilly low of 4C on Sunday and maximum of 15C on Saturday. Despite what looks to be a snowy beginning to the ski season, a warm winter is forecast for Australia. Professor Emeritus David Karoly, from the University of Melbourne and the Australian Climate Council, said there is clear evidence of snow cover declining and snow season length reducing due to global warming. 'It's long-term warming due to human-caused climate change from burning fossil fuels,' he said. Karoly said last year's snow season started similarly to this year, with relatively good snow early on, but due to high temperatures and low snowfall there was not enough to maintain snow for the whole season. He said the impact of climate change from Australian and global emissions, with a new world record for climate pollution set in 2024, will cause continued decline in snow cover and snow season length until at least 2050 – the current target date for net zero emissions. 'By that stage there will be very, very few commercially viable ski areas in Australia even with increases in snowmaking on the resorts,' he said. He said lack of action from powerful countries like the US to reduce their emissions and the Australian government's expansion of the North West Shelf pas project 'will make it virtually impossible to meet its commitments for zero emissions by 2050'.
ABC News
5 days ago
- Climate
- ABC News
Australia's snowiest weather in three years ahead for long weekend
South-east Australia will collectively shiver this long weekend as a mass of polar air from sub-Antarctic waters brings several days of showers, highland snow and well-below-average temperatures. The cold snap has the potential to bring the heaviest rain in one to two years across southern South Australia and south-west Victoria, a blessing for farmers who are desperate for relief from a record dry 16 months. The wintry storm is also likely to produce Australia's most widespread snow in years — ideal timing for alpine resorts for the opening of the ski season. The past two winters have been very lean snow-wise across Australia — both in terms of the ski season and non-alpine falls. And while winter 2025 is likely to be warmer than normal in general, the frigid air surging north will reduce speed once it reaches Australia, leading to a prolonged polar outbreak from Saturday, including potentially the most widespread snowfalls since 2022. Across the alpine regions, snow will fall above between about 800 and 1,200 metres for at least four days, comfortably below the elevation of our ski slopes, which sit mostly at a height between 1,400 to 2,000m. Modelling is confident the Saturday-Sunday period will drop around 40 to 60 centimetres across the major resorts, which in most years would equate to one of the best dumps of the season. Further snow will fall across the Alps from Monday; however, it's currently unclear whether the back half of the event will bring only a few centimetres each day or further moderate falls. For non-alpine regions, the prospect of snowfalls down to 800 metres raises the potential for a winter wonderland in numerous towns along the Great Dividing Range. In terms of extent, Victoria's snowiest day should be Sunday, followed by NSW on Monday when a dusting is likely on both the southern and central ranges, including around Oberon, Orange and the Blue Mountains. There's even the slight possibility of a quick flurry of snow in the hills around Canberra on Monday, and a few flakes may reach the northern NSW ranges on Tuesday. The Barrington Tops region of the Upper Hunter will also receive snow — falling on multiple days from Sunday onwards due to its high elevation above 1,500m. While major winter storms are more common from late June to August, it was only three years ago that a series of early June fronts brought similarly cold conditions and snow. On that occasion, well over one metre fell on the higher Alps in less than two weeks, so while this event is notable, it's far from record-breaking. For our capitals, temperatures will remain well above June records despite plummeting as much as 4 degrees Celsius below average, including the coldest maximums of: Sunday Adelaide 13C — coldest day since July 2024 (12.5C) Melbourne 12C — coldest day since September 2024 (10.8C) Monday Canberra 9C — coldest day since July 2024 (8.5C) Sydney 16C — was colder on June 4th (14.1C) Tuesday Brisbane 20C — was colder on May 30th (18.9C) The coldest air will bypass Tasmania, resulting in Hobart's maximums of around 14C being slightly above the June average. The presence of sub-Antarctic air well into the mid-latitudes will cause a low-pressure system to form and then track east through Bass Strait this weekend. Low-pressure systems bring rain, and thankfully for farmers, the system's slow movement will supply at least four days of showery weather. However, even before the low develops, a cold front will spread showers east through SA, Tasmania, and Victoria today with an average fall of 1 to 10 millimetres to whet the appetite ahead of the main event. As the low forms on Saturday the intensity of precipitation will increase, although totals will be highly dependent on location. Since winds spin clockwise around a low in the Southern Hemisphere, areas exposed to a westerly will see the heaviest falls on the mainland, including the SA coast and ranges, south-west and mountain Victoria, and the western slopes of the NSW southern ranges. Winds to the south of the low will swing from northerlies to easterlies, also leading to heavy falls across northern and eastern Tasmania. The forecast is more complex for Gippsland, with rainfall intensity dependent on whether the low track south to Tasmania or into eastern Bass Strait from Monday. The map below shows how much rain could accumulate over a five-day period, which would represent the heaviest falls in a year or two for some regions, including: As with most powerful fronts and lows, this weekend's system will generate a belt of strong winds. The Bureau of Meteorology has already issued warnings for strengthening north-westerly winds ahead of the first front for Friday and are likely to reissue warnings for areas of the coast and ranges when the low spins up near Bass Strait. The region likely to face the full force of the low on Saturday is along the coast near the SA-Vic border, where gusts may exceed 100 kilometres per hour, strong enough to bring down trees and lead to damage and power outages. Damaging gusts may also impact central SA and the NSW ranges on Saturday, before the threat eases slightly from Sunday onwards.
