Cities in Australia’s eastern states woke up to the unusual sight of snow-dusted railings on Wednesday morning, with snow falling in Canberra, Hobart and the outer suburbs of Melbourne overnight.
An intense low-pressure system brought freezing temperatures across south-eastern Australia, with snow expected to fall in areas more than 300m above sea level in Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and southern New South Wales, and down to 200m in Tasmania.
Snow man overlooks Parliament House in Canberra. @TheTodayShow pic.twitter.com/HQMnjoa0Og
— Joel Dry (@JoelDry9) July 12, 2016
Snow on Mt Ainslie #canberrasnow pic.twitter.com/9WDlGeMZ4U
— Brihony Speed (@brihonyspeed) July 12, 2016
Substantial falls were reported in Canberra, especially on Mount Ainslie, and in Daylesford, Ballarat, Rosey and Sunbury in central Victoria.
A light dusting of snow was also reported in the Adelaide Hills in South Australia on Tuesday night.
The temperature in Canberra was sitting on 1C on Wednesday morning, but Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Mohammad Nabi said it felt like -7C, thanks to wind chill.
Melbourne was on 5C, but the bureau’s Adam Morgan said “extreme” wind chill meant “it will feel like zero through most of the day”.
Keris Arndt, senior bureau forecaster in Melbourne, said snow had also been reported in the Dandenongs and Macedon, outside Melbourne.
Dusting of snow in southern and northern Tas overnight (photo via @shyfoxphoto) @abcnewsTas pic.twitter.com/X05kSE1UVb
— Stephen Smiley (@StephenSmiley) July 12, 2016
“I actually live at Macedon and there was a bit lying on the ground that you could see, just a little bit, when I left at 5.30am,” Arndt told Guardian Australia.
Arndt said snow would continue to fall at altitudes higher than 1,000m in Victoria throughout Wednesday, but the foothills would see snow replaced with rain.
Chris in Trentham just texted this photo: "Hi Fiona, not only is Trentham deep in snow, but we have no power either" pic.twitter.com/IXYHubR0WE
— ABC Central Victoria (@abccentralvic) July 12, 2016
The beautiful snow falling in #Daylesford from listener Dean. Keep your videos + photos coming. #vicsnow #vicweather pic.twitter.com/m8s13FbM9U
— ABC Radio Melbourne (@774melbourne) July 12, 2016
Victoria’s main ski fields of Falls Creek and Mount Hotham recorded falls of 34cm and 25cm respectively in 24 hours, adding to a total snow depth on both of 82cm.
More than 85cm of snow was reported to have fallen on Thredbo in NSW on Tuesday and overnight, and 35cm fell at Perisher.
NSW has issued a blizzard warning for peaks above 1,700m in the Snowy Mountains, with damaging wind gusts of up to 120km/h.
Snow showers lowering to around 300 metres from the west today and tomorrow. #VicWeather #Snow pic.twitter.com/VD6rL4wuT6
— BOM Victoria (@BOM_Vic) July 12, 2016
The state emergency service in Victoria received more than 1,000 calls for assistance, with damage caused by trees brought down in strong winds overnight.
Ambulance Victoria said three people had been taken to hospital after crashes involving trees that had fallen on the road, and police warned motorists to be wary of black ice.
In Tasmania, wild weather on Tuesday caused mass blackouts, while heavy rainfall in the north of the state caused significant flooding, less than a month after three people were killed in the worst floods in 80 years.
Just started snowing in Hobart town. Here is Mt Welligton pic.twitter.com/EY25eFaXcy
— Julie Collins (@JulieCollinsMP) July 12, 2016
