Signs of winter abound
Ben Domensino,
Friday October 14, 2016 - 12:53 AEDT
You could be forgiven for thinking it's still winter if you woke up in Australia's southeast today.
Parts of New South Wales and Victoria shivered through their coldest October morning in a decade and there is still August-like snow cover sitting on the mountain tops.
A cold air mass left in the wake of two cold fronts combined with light winds and clear skies last night, allowing temperatures to plummet.
Melbourne reached a low of 5.2 degrees shortly after 7am, making it the coldest October morning in six years. Essendon's minimum of 2.2 degrees was the coldest October morning in 10 years and the lowest temperature recorded since early winter.
In New South Wales, it was the coldest October morning in 13 years for Bega and 10 years for Bombala, dropping to lows of 0.5 and minus 3.6 degrees respectively. Sydney got down to nine degrees for the first time during October in three years.
The cold air responsible for this morning's wintry minimums has also helped maintain substantial late-season snow cover on the high mountains.
The snow depth measured at Spencers Creek in New South Wales yesterday was 141cm, which is the highest level this late in the season since 1996. This snow depth is about 40cm above average for this time of year and more typical of early August than mid-October.
While there is still enough snow for skiing or boarding on the higher slopes of Mount Hotham, Falls Creek, Thredbo and Perisher at the moment, the resorts have already closed for the season.
Computer models are currently unable to forecast snow depths far enough into the future to provide resort operators with enough time to plan and prepare for extending their seasons into mid-October. It's simply too risky ahead of time to hope for repeated late-season snowfalls like we are seeing this year.
Temperatures will warm up across Australia's southeast during the next two days, but don't put your extra blanket away just yet.
Three more cold fronts could move across the southeast between Sunday and next Friday, dropping temperatures and once again bringing a dusting of late-season snow to the alps.
- Weatherzone
© Weatherzone
2016