Aussie snow resorts get ‘miraculous’ snow to raise hope after disappointing ski season so far
- Up to 10 cm fell in the snowfields of NSW and Vic
- More expected next week with a new cold front
A fresh dusting of snow over Australia’s beleaguered ski resorts is ’cause for optimism’ after early hopes for another peak season were dashed.
Ski resorts in NSW and Victoria recorded snowfalls of up to 10cm on Thursday as a cold front pushed across Australia’s south-east, with another on the way.
Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Angus Hines said the second cold front was “waiting in the wings” to deliver even more snow next week.
“There’s a little more cause for optimism in the coming week than the past four or five weeks, which have been pretty lean,” Mr Hines said.
Snowfall in NSW raised hopes for the ski season after a gloomy July. Photo: Thredbo
The snowfall is expected to continue into next week. Photo: Perisher
“It’s not a super strong cold front with a big pile of snow — it’s not that type of weather system. It is a soft front that will bring some snow to higher elevations.
“These are small upgrades over the next week, none of them will be that really big snow dump that will put things back on track with a big thick snow base.”
Although it varies from mountain to mountain, Mr Hines said ski resorts could see between 10 and 15 cm of snow above 1300-1400 meters from Saturday afternoon.
Repeated small snowfalls are expected to grace holidaymakers at NSW and Victoria ski resorts throughout the week ahead before intensifying again next weekend.
For Thredbo Ski Resort in the NSW Snowy Mountains, the recent blowing of snow brought enthusiastic videos of skiers and snowboarders taking to the slopes.
“Temperatures have dropped and it’s snowing from the middle of the mountain,” Thredbo said Thursday.
‘The best part? According to the forecast, snow will continue to fall all week. Bring on Mother Nature.’
On Friday morning, Perisher wrote on Facebook, “An overnight reload of Mother Nature and the guns.”
The post is accompanied by a photo of the snow machines that have played an important role this season.
The situation was similar on the other side of the border, where Mount Hotham Alpine Resort shared photos on Friday.
In a post titled “sun and guns,” the resort shared footage of the snow machines dusting the slopes.
Snow machines were running despite four inches of snow falling in parts of Australia’s snowfields. Photo: Perisher.
A record dry and warm winter has created challenges for the country’s ski resorts this snowy season.
Mr Hines said prolonged gaps between cold fronts had dashed early hopes of a strong 2023 season.
“June – the first month of winter – was actually quite promising in the mountains,” said Mr. Hines.
“There was quite a bit of regular snowfall through June for the alpine areas.
‘The resorts have also started the season well.’
Once July started, Mr Hines said the “snow-bringing weather features” became rarer and more widely spaced.
“Those cold fronts from the southwest, those with a pool of very cold air that produce the most notable snowfall, really started to dry up,” Mr. Hines said.
“We’ve had a few cold fronts in July, of course — we always will at that time of year — but the ones that rolled through were pretty weak weather systems. And they were also quite scarce.
“That doesn’t add fresh snow to the mountains. But secondly, if those gaps between the fronts become quite rare, the weather will be warm, clear and dry.’
As a result, Mr Hines said, much of the snow simply melted away before the next cold front broke through.