Woohoo! That's not a technical weather term, but it does express the feelings that anyone heading to the snow for the start of the Victorian public school holidays this weekend will be feeling, as heavy snow falls on Friday afternoon.

Ski resorts usually only report depths in the morning, which means it's hard to gauge just how much falls during daylight hours.

But thankfully we've got the Perisher snow stake to show us that aboute 5 cm of white goodness has accumulated today at that particular resort, as a trough and associated bands of precipitation cross the mainland high country.

Image: Perisher has staked its claim as the resort with the most lifts spinning this weekend. Source: ski.com.au.

We've also got cams at various resorts, like this time-stamped image at Mt Buller in Victoria. The snow-covered road is a giveaway that a good portion of that snow cover is fresh.

Image: Keep it comin'. Source: Aussieskier.com.

The really good news is that at least some snow is in the forecast each day all the way through to next Friday, and while the snow level is not going to be super low, it should be comfortably cold enough for snow at most elevations at the mainland resorts.

• Moderate falls are likely at times this coming weekend, with 5 to 10 cm possible on both days
• A heavier fall of 10 to 20 cm is likely on Monday as another trough crosses the region embedded in a nice cool westerly windflow

Lifts are now open at all resorts, including Selwyn in New South Wales, the resort whose facilities burned down in the devastating bushfiores of the Black Summer of 2019/20, but which rebuilt and finally reopened this week.

Elsewhere in NSW, Perisher is planning to have 23 of its 47 lifts spinning this weekend, while Thredbo and Charlotte Pass will also have around half of their lifts turning, and possibly more by next week, depending how much snow falls in the next few days.

It's a similar story in Victoria, where Mt Buller, Mt Baw Baw, Falls Creek, and Hotham all have several lifts open, with more snow required to cover the larger rocks and bushes in order for the resorts to be fully operational.

Click the links above for more info on what's happening at each resorts, and of course, you can get the full picture with cams, forecasts and more on the Weatherzone snow page.