Skip to Content

News

Home>Weather News>Deep snow covering Australia's alps

Search Icon
Ben Domensino, 08 Sep 2017, 10:01 AM UTC

Deep snow covering Australia's alps

Deep snow covering Australia's alps
Australia's 2017 ski season has reached new heights this week. A pool of very cold air surging north from Antarctica brought repetitive rounds of snow to Australia's southeast during the last six days. Snow cover is so deep in some areas that ski resorts have had to dig chair lifts out of snow drifts to keep them operating. Having snow this dry on top of a natural base this deep is rare in Australia. According to Snowy Hydro, the natural snow depth at Spencer's Creek in NSW was a whopping 233cm on Wednesday. This is a new peak for the current season and the highest level measured at the site in 17 years. More snow has fallen in the last two days and there is a good chance that the natural base at Spencers Creek is currently sitting above 2.5 metres. Off the back of the latest falls, a number of resorts have extended their season to give skiers and boarders extra time to enjoy the snow covered slopes. Away from the alps, snow has also fallen to low levels in Australia's southeastern states this week. In Tasmania, a number of schools and roads were closed on Friday due to the recent snow. The state's Mount Mawson Ski Group even published an advisory to warn visitors about the potential for avalanches outside patrolled ski areas. Dry weather will return to the alps this weekend as a high pressure system drifts over the southeast.
Note to media: You are welcome to republish text from the above news article as direct quotes from Weatherzone. When doing so, please reference www.weatherzone.com.au in the credit.