A burst of wintry weather brought snow to parts of Tasmania, Victoria and NSW on the weekend, with some of Australia's ski resorts seeing their first dusting of the season.

Snow started falling over southeastern Australia on Saturday as a mass of cold air swept in from the Southern Ocean.

Image: Cradle Mountain, Tasmania on Sunday. Credit: Cradle Mountain Hotel

By Sunday morning, the temperature had dropped to -3 degrees in Tasmania (Mount Wellington), Victoria (Mount Hotham) and NSW (Thredbo) and snow had settled in parts of all three states.

Image: Thredbo, NSW on Sunday. Credit: Thredbo Resort

The weekend's wintry scenes are a sign that seasons are changing in southern Australia. It's also one of the first glimpses of the upcoming ski season in the alps.

Image: Mount Hotham, Victoria on Sunday. Credit: Hotham Alpine Resort.

Unfortunately, Australia's 2020 ski season is surrounded by uncertainty because of COVID-19. Like many aspects of our lives, the pandemic is likely to impact how resorts are able to operate in the coming months.

The official ski season usually starts on or around the June long weekend. At this stage, most resorts are still making preparations for the 2020 winter season. However, official public health restrictions are likely to affect their operations, at least early in the season.

Individual resort websites are providing information on the impact of COVID-19 on their operations. This is the best place to find the latest updates on the upcoming ski season.

Looking ahead, warmer weather will return to southeastern Australia this week, although some models suggest that more snow could be on the cards this weekend.