Snow and cold November rain on miserable Thursday in southern states
"It's hard to hold a candle in the cold November rain," Guns N' Roses sang in the classic 1991 hard rock power ballad Cold November Rain.
Axl Rose wasn't wrong. It will indeed be hard to keep a candle burning outdoors in today's cold November rain in southeast Australia, as unseasonal cold, wet, and windy weather sweeps through NSW, Victoria, and the ACT.
Snow fell in the NSW Snowy Mountains early on Thursday morning, coating the ground with a couple of centimetres of white stuff above about 1400 metres, as cold southerly winds in the wake of a front swept over the region.
Image: The weather was a little flaky on the road up to Perisher on Thursday morning. Source: Steve Smith.
It usually snows at least once each November in the high country and it's not uncommon to see snow in the summer months too.
So today’s snow is nothing unusual – although it was quite the drop at Perisher Valley from 20.1 degrees on Tuesday to a snowy Thursday with subzero temperatures.
Image: The snow cams at Thredbo were looking artfully black-and-white on Thursday morning. Source: ski.com.au
Meanwhile in Melbourne, temperatures are forecast to reach just 15 degrees.
Racegoers may have lamented that they were unable to attend Flemington due to Covid restrictions on the warmest Melbourne Cup day in 15 years (maximum 30.4), but with a brisk southerly and occasional showers sweeping in over the bay, today's Oaks Day meeting might've been better watched at home anyway.
Further north, Canberra has added to its impressive 2020 rainfall tally with an extra 17.8 mm of rain overnight, and temperatures will struggle to reach the mid-teens today.
In Sydney, rain set in overnight, and should stick around for most of Thursday before clearing on Friday.
One of the harbour city's notorious prolonged rainy spells is not on the cards this week, but temperatures will only reach about 20 degrees for the rest of the week.
Across the southeast, maximum temperatures will remain slightly cool for November for the rest of the week, before warming up next Tuesday and Wednesday.