Australia Weather News

Snow is forecast to fall in three states and the ACT on Wednesday as a very cold polar air mass surges north across south-east Australia.

The snow will follow the passage of powerful cold fronts, which are also delivering much-needed rain, along with small hail and thunderstorms.

Along with the icy soaking, the system has triggered multiple warnings for wind and coastal hazards, including a blizzard warning for alpine regions as gales combine with snow to reduce visibility below 200 metres.

However, snow won't just be confined to the Australian Alps, thanks to the arrival of a frigid air mass, which just 48 hours ago was located just off the Antarctic coast.

Where will snow fall on Wednesday?

The frigid sub-Antarctic air will reach Tasmania and Victoria this afternoon, followed by NSW tonight.

This will cause temperatures to plummet, dropping the snow level well below the alpine environment.

For Tasmania, snowfalls can be expected above an elevation of about 500m, blanketing much of the mountainous inland, although the only true town above this height is Waratah in the state's north-west.

Victoria can also expect a lowering snow level today, and while the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) predicts flakes as low as 600m this afternoon, snow should remain above 700 to 800m in most areas, which exceeds the height of the state's non-alpine towns.

However, it's NSW which has larger population centres at a higher altitude — and as the cold air sweeps north, dozens of locations along the Great Dividing Range should be dusted in white.

The BOM are forecasting a snow level later tonight from about 700 to 800m on the southern and central NSW ranges (and the ACT).

At this elevation, towns with at least 1,000 residents that are likely to see snow include:

Predicting the amount of snow that falls is more challenging; however, modelling is suggesting for most areas an accumulation of below 5 centimetres.

For alpine areas, though, continuous snowfalls since yesterday are repairing substantial damage to the cover from up to 90 millimetres of rain on Monday night.

Snow will continue across the Alps today, bringing the storm total to around 50cm for most major ski resorts.

Is snow in the mountains translating to drought relief?

The upside to the vigorous winter storm is parched southern states are receiving another burst of drought relief.

An initial front brought moderate totals to southern SA, north-east Victoria and southern NSW — including in the 24 hours to 9am on Tuesday:

Showers and the odd storm continued through Tuesday as the second front arrived with another 5 to 15mm falling by sunset across south-east SA and south-west Victoria.

The ongoing showery days this June have brought the wettest month in up to two years for parts of Australia's southern coastline — for example, Mount Gambier's this month has received more than 115mm, the city's highest total since June 2023.

A wintry mix of showers, storms, and small hail will continue across south-east states today before rapidly easing tonight as the polar air mass moves off the east coast.

Winds will also ease by tomorrow, after damaging gusts of 100 kilometres an hour whip parts of the NSW coast and ranges today.