Australia’s top ski resorts could receive more than one metre of snow over the next week as a monster storm hits the south and east coast.
Damaging winds, thunderstorms and heavy rains are sweeping across Victoria from the Cape Otway to east Gippsland, prompting a severe weather warning for most of the state from the Bureau of Meteorology.
The low pressure system, which has also brought wild weather to ACT, Tasmania and NSW, is expected to dump the largest amount of fresh snow seen yet this year.
Despite Spring arriving on Friday, people living in the Otways awoke on Tuesday to a sprinkling of snow on the ground.
Staff at Thredbo, in Kosciuszko National Park in NSW, said the ski resort received 50cm in the past 24 hours.
Damaging winds and heavy snow are sweeping across Victoria, prompting a severe weather warning for most of the state from the Bureau of Meteorology (pictured is snowfall in Kosciuszko National Park)
The monster storm, which has also brought wild weather to ACT, Tasmania and NSW, is expected to dump the largest amount of fresh snow seen yet this year
Staff at Thredbo (pictured), in Kosciuszko National Park in NSW, said the ski resort received 50cm in the past 24 hours
Despite Spring arriving on Friday, people living in the Otways awoke on Tuesday to a sprinkling of snow on the ground
Police at the national park posted a video of the thick, white snow blanketing the roads.
Officers used the footage to warn drivers of the low visibility and urge them to be careful.
Anywhere between 70 to 110cm of snow could fall at the country’s top skiing resorts before next week, according to Weatherzone.
Snow could fall as low as 300 metres in the Victorian Alps and 600metres in the NSW Alps.
Police were forced to rescue a mother and her son who were stranded near Lake MacKenzie in Tasmania due to a large amount of rain and snow falling on the area on Monday.
Pictured is the ‘doorometer’ at 7am in Alpine Heights Hotham
Pictured are dark clouds hanging above Perisher resort
A man scrapes snow off the front of his SUV as it continue to pour down
The frigid air is expected to drop more snow on the highland areas, while heavy showers drench southern New South Wales and Victoria
The pair were on a three-day hike near Lake McKenzie in Tasmania when the cold snap hit and the weather deteriorated so badly they were unable to escape.
They managed to call for help using a satellite messenger, prompting the police to reach them on an inflatable raft.
Victoria’s State Emergency Service received 60 calls for help from 9pm last night, according toThe Herald Sun.
The majority were in regards to fallen trees and debris.
SES have urged people to move their vehicles undercover and away from trees, and secure loose items around the yard.
Gusty winds paired with the low temperatures will make it feel several degrees colder, Weatherzone forecasters said.
Melbourne and Hobart are expected to reach a maximum of just 15C this week, while Canberra will reach a high of 12C.
Sydney will see a dip in temperatures but is anticipated to reach 20C on Thursday and Sunday.
Gusty winds paired with the low temperatures will make it feel several degrees colder, Weatherzone forecasters said
Police were forced to rescue a mother and her son who were stranded near Lake McKenzie in Tasmania due to a large amount of rain and snow falling on the area on Monday
The frigid air is expected to drop decent snowfall on the highland areas, while heavy showers drench southern New South Wales and Victoria
Weatherzone’s Graeme Brittain said erratic fluctuations in temperatures from day-to-day were not uncommon at the start of spring.
He said the warmer weather interacted with occasional cold air from the south and resulted in dramatic weather episodes.
Following a brief reprieve from the cold weather on Wednesday, Weatherzone predicted another bitter cold spell to move across the east coast on Thursday and Friday.
While Australia’s southern region suffers through the cold, Weatherzone said Queensland should remain dry.
The mother and son managed to call for help using a satellite messenger, prompting the Tasmania Police (pictured) to reach them on an inflatable raft
Snow falling on Thredbo ski slopes – as a cold snap rolls across the country’s east
Weather forecasters warn it’s only the beginning of a cold snap that is rolling across the south east of Australia bringing with it snow, showers and dangerous winds