Weather News

Time to hit the slopes: best ski season in years

The ski resorts have been buried by more than 50cm of snow during the past few days, with snow depths reaching their highest levels in eight years.

A vigorous cold front that crossed the nation's southeast drew a very cold airmass over the resorts, while a strong west to southwest wind flow delivered high amounts of moisture. This has led to days of heavy snow with most resorts gaining 50 to 80cm over the last 48 hours.

The large dump of snow fell on top of already strong bases. The official reading of the snow depth last Thursday came in at 162cm, which was recorded at Spencer's Creek near Thredbo.

Close to 90cm of snow has fallen at Thredbo during the past 48 hours, which has bumped the snow depth to over two metres. This would make it the highest in at least eight years, however the next official figures will not be released until this Thursday.

If the snow depth exceeds the 2004 figure of 228cm this would make it the highest in 12 years, when 262cm depths were recorded.

The recent snowfall, strong bases and cold temperatures are making for great riding conditions this weekend with plenty of powder. The winds are easing today with plenty of sunshine in store of the rest of the weekend.

- Weatherzone

© Weatherzone 2012

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Frosty night across southern NSW and ACT

12:54 EST Southern New South Wales and the ACT had a chilly start to the weekend, with some places seeing their coldest May night in half a decade.