Heavy snow has fallen in Tasmania, with chilly temperatures also spreading to the southeast corner of mainland Australia after the passage of a powerful autumn cold front. 

The front brought snow down to around 500 metres above sea level, with accumulations exceeding 15cm at higher elevations, while numerous weather stations in the western half of the state recorded much-needed falls of rain in the range of 25-50mm.

As the sun poked its nose through the cloud on Thursday morning, spectacular views of Mt Field (1434m) were on offer from the tiny township of Maydena, about 90 minutes northwest of Hobart. Mike Callow, who runs Maydena’s Fika Time cafe, told Weatherzone it was the third snowfall this year but definitely the heaviest to date.

Image: The view to Mt Field from Maydena, Tas, on Thursday, May 8, 2025. Source: Mike Callow, Fika Time Cafe/Restaurant.

Mt Field National Park (pictured above) is also home to Mt Mawson, a club-run, non-commercial ski field where the morning snow cams revealed snow enthusiasts enjoying the first turns of the season despite the rudimentary ski lifts not yet being open. 

Image: If you love the snow, you’ve simply got to go. Source: Mt Mawson.

While cold air in the wake of the front made it to southeastern Australia, the bulk of the moisture didn’t cross Bass Strait, although light falls of rain were recorded across southeastern SA and large parts of Victoria. The highest reading was 14mm at both Mt Baw Baw and Mt Buller in the Victorian Alps, some of which fell as snow.

But the main effect from this front for the mainland is the much cooler temperatures. For example:

• At 10am on Thursday, Canberra was 12.7°C. At 10am on Wednesday it was 18.9°C.
• At 10am on Thursday, Melbourne was 14°C. At 10am on Wednesday it was 19°C.
• At 10am on Thursday, Thredbo Top Station was 0°C. At 10am on Wednesday it was 6.7°C.

Cold nights lie ahead for much of the southeast, with a strong high pressure system centred over SE Australia set to create clear, calm conditions at night which will be conducive to widespread frosts.

Canberra is expected to see –1°C on both Friday and Saturday morning, while Perisher Valley (which often has mainland Australia’s lowest recorded temperatures) should dip to –5°C on Friday. Melbourne should also shiver through its coldest night of 2025 to date with 5°C expected on Saturday morning.

Minimums in coming nights won’t be quite as low in Tasmania, with the state remaining under the influence of cloud and westerly winds.