Australian ski resorts get brief snow boost amid ‘one of worst seasons’
Crowds have flocked to Australia’s ski resorts as snowfall and cold weather offer some relief from the gloomy season, but snowfall conditions don’t look set to last long.
It was a busy Sunday on the ski slopes after the coldest day of the year for many started the weekend.
Weatherzone data shows Glen Innes Airport in the NSW Northern Tablelands dropped to -5.8C overnight, while Thredbo was still -1.3C at 9.30am on Sunday morning.
Skiers hit the slopes at Thredbo on Sunday, as well as at nearby Perisher.
Australian snowboarding sensation Rani Siregar said in a post on Sunday that people were enjoying the conditions in a weak season.
“No need to talk nonsense, this is one of the worst seasons we’ve had in a long time. But you can’t choose the circumstances, you just have to do the best you can,” he said.
A ski resort employee at Thredbo said there was nice fresh snow on some of the resort’s unmarked slopes on Saturday, but the snow had hardened on Sunday.
“We have a few nice days ahead before the next storm moves through on Tuesday and Wednesday… Clouds should clear for a mostly sunny Sunday, enjoy it and have a good day,” the staff wrote in the daily weather report.
Australia’s ski resorts have had a weak year so far; Unseasonably warm May and June disrupted much of the start of the season.
Images of a narrow man-made ski slope at Mt Buller in Victoria last month sparked much debate online, with much of the resort’s mountain landscape covered in grass and mud.
Last week’s snowfall was a welcome relief.
Perisher has received 2cm of snow in the last seven days and the car park on Kosciuszko Road was full on Sunday morning. Live cameras show Mt Buller is also busy, with the slopes now covered in snow.
Angus Hines of the Bureau of Meteorology told NewsWire that warm conditions at ski resorts will melt the snow.
“There was no fresh snow today or yesterday, it was a little late last week,” he said.
“But the snowmaking conditions are also not ideal because the weather is quite mild in the mountains today. We’re looking at high temperatures… three to six degrees on most of the alpine slopes.”
“So it’s a little warm to actually try and make snow or keep the snow there.”
Mr. Hines said conditions elsewhere were “fairly benign.”
The country was “in between” weather conditions that brought a strong cold front and low snowfall to Tasmania late last week, although some of this rainfall was still causing minor flooding.
“It’s been pretty mild across most of the country, but I have to say, it’s been very cold over the last few nights in Northern New South Wales and Southern Queensland… temperatures are well above negative in some of those places.”
A “fairly weak” cold front hitting the South West will gain momentum as it moves eastwards over the coming days.
“It’s going to pick up some momentum as it reaches Tasmania on Tuesday, so we’re looking at a pretty strong winter blast far south on Tuesday,” Mr Hines said.
“Melbourne will get a taste of this with some rain on Tuesday and then some cooler temperatures as we head into Wednesday.
“Most of Sydney is in for a pretty bright week, maybe showers towards the end of the week, but plenty of sunny days before then.”
