Australian Weather

Today, 1:09AM UTC

Heavy snow has fallen across Tasmania, with light snow falling to levels as low as 600 metres, while snowfall totals likely exceeded 20 centimetres at some locations above about 1000 metres. Tasmania’s highest peak is Mt Ossa at 1617 metres, the iconic Cradle Mountain is 1545 m, while kunanyi/Mt Wellington towers above Hobart at 1271 metres. So any time snow falls to 600 metres, a good proportion of the state will have a coating of white. This was the scene at Cradle Mountain Visitor Centre on Tuesday morning. Image: Footsteps in the snow at Cradle Mountain Visitor Centre, Tasmania, on July 14, 2026. Source: Mike Pole. And this was the very wintry scene high on kunanyi/Mt Wellington above Hobart just after 10 am. At that time, the Pinnacle Road to the summit was closed at The Springs, at an elevation of 720 metres. Image: No footsteps in the snow yet at the kunanyi/Mt Wellington summit due to the closed road. Source: hobartcity.com.au. What caused the heavy snowfall? A series of troughs embedded in a persistent westerly stream crossed Tasmania overnight, bringing frequent bands of moisture accompanied by frigid air which was driven north from latitudes near Antarctica. Image: 12-hour satellite and radar loop over Tasmania and nearby mainland areas to 4 am on Tuesday, July 14, 2026. Source: Weatherzone. Hobart received 19.4 mm of rainfall overnight, which made it the city’s second-wettest day of the year to date, while numerous Tasmanian locations received rainfall totals in the 25 to 50 mm range. Tasmania’s only commercial ski resort – Ben Lomond near Launceston – reported only 4-5 centimetres of fresh snow overnight, however its location in the northeast of the state is not always conducive to heavy falls from westerly weather systems.  Good and bad news for the mainland snowfields The image below illustrates how the airmass that passed across Tasmania overnight was significantly colder than the airmass over the ski resorts of Victoria and New South Wales on the southeastern corner of the mainland. Image: 850 hPa temperatures and mean sea level pressure over southern Australia and nearby waters at 1 am (AEST) on July 14, 2026. Source: Weatherzone. Overnight, snow fell only on the uppermost slopes of the mainland resorts. At lower levels, rain fell. Ever since a cold front arrived late on Saturday, ushering in a four-day flow of strong westerly winds and persistent moisture over the Australian Alps, there have been two distinct bursts of snowfall with two periods of rain at all but the highest elevations. The higher resorts have still benefited from this system. At least 25 centimetres of snow has fallen at both Perisher and Thredbo, and while rain has eroded some of the snowpack, locals are still saying there has been a net gain overall. As we head towards lunchtime this Tuesday, snow showers are again falling at the ski resorts, with temperatures having dipped ever so slightly. For example, Thredbo Top Station (Australia’s highest weather station) hovered around -0.1°C overnight, which was marginal for snow. But the mercury had dropped to -0.5°C at 9:30 am and was the same temperature at 10:30 am, as the very tip of the cold air over Tasmania pushed northwards. Please check the Weatherzone snow page for the latest forecasts, live snow cams and more. Meanwhile, Canberra and Hobart will be the coldest capitals today, with maximums of 11°C expected. With those persistent westerlies, the apparent or "feels like" temperature will barely break 5°C all day in both cities.

13 Jul 2026, 3:09AM UTC

A wind gust of 163 km/h was recorded in the southern Tasmanian outpost of Maatsuyker Island around dawn on Monday morning, as a vigorous westerly airstream lashes southeastern Australia. The gust was near the upper limit of the strongest gust you’d typically expect in a category 2 cyclone – meaning it was very close to the equivalent of a category 3 cyclone.  But this was no tropical system. The engine of this morning’s cold, fearsome winds was a strong low pressure system centred well south of Australia near Antarctica. Image: Mean sea level pressure and 850 hPa temperatures, showing the position of the low well south of Australia, at 1 am (AEST) on Monday, July 13, 2026. Source: Weatherzone. The wild winds whipped Tasmania ahead of the passage of a cold front, which will cause snow to fall as low as 600 metres above sea level in Tasmania later today. Snow is already falling at the state’s higher elevations. Strongest Tasmanian wind gust since 2024, NSW and Vic gusts also exceed 100 km/h The 163 km/h gust at Maatsuyker Island was the equal-strongest recorded gust at the site (or anywhere in Tasmania) since August 2024. The weather station is situated on an elevated clifftop near the lighthouse on the island’s southwestern tip, where a gust of 163 km/h was also recorded in October 2025.  Other Tasmanian locations where gusts exceeded 100 km/h included: Tasman Island, 120 km/h gust at 10:43 am Kunanyi/Mt Wellington above Hobart, 117 km/h gust at 1:42 am Scotts Peak, 139 km/h gust at 5:51 am Wind gusts exceeding 100 km/h at locations in New South Wales and Victoria over the weekend and into Monday morning included: Thredbo Top Station (NSW), 119 km/h gust at 10:35 am on Sunday Mt Hotham (Vic), 106 km/h gust at 9:30 pm on Saturday Hogan Island (Vic) in northern Bass Strait, around 40 km south of Wilsons Promontory, 106 km/h gust at 12:23 am this Monday Falls Creek (Vic) 102 km/h gust at 11:05 pm on Sunday The combined radar and satellite loop on Monday morning (below) shows bands of cloud and moisture rapidly moving across Tasmania and the southeastern mainland, shoved along by those fierce westerlies. Image: Combined satellite and radar loop for SE Australia for the eight hours to 10:30 am (AEST) on Monday, July 13, 2026. Source: Weatherzone. This is a typically stormy weather pattern for southern Australia in winter, with severe weather warnings for damaging winds in place this Monday for the Snowy Mountains of NSW, parts of Victoria, and numerous forecast districts in Tasmania, especially in the state’s north.  Blizzards with a little rain thrown into the mix Significant snowfalls have occurred with this system from Saturday onwards, with a brief surge of very cold air early on Sunday morning bringing snow as far north as the summit of 1397-metre Mt Canobolas, near Orange on the NSW Central Tablelands. The higher alpine resorts like Perisher and Thredbo in NSW have reported around 25 centimetres of snow to date from this event. Unfortunately for snow enthusiasts, the snow turned to rain below about 1700 metres on Sunday evening, with a mix of precipitation of both the frozen and unfrozen variety continuing into Monday. Image: Unfortunately that is a rainbow, not a "snowbow" over the High Noon run at Thredbo, NSW, on Monday morning. Source: "Rusty" via ski.com.au. A fresh surge of cold air briefly kicks in later this evening into Tuesday morning, which should add up to 10 centimetres to the snowpack, before the atmosphere over the southeast starts to dry out on Tuesday, with winds easing as a high pressure system dominates the weather for the remainder of the working week. Please check the Weatherzone snow page for the latest snow forecasts, live cam images from the mountains, and more.