Melbourne weather: polar vortex to bring freezing temperatures
Bundle up, winter is finally here! Polar vortex is driving snowstorms in some parts of Australia with temperatures threatening to drop
- Alpine regions in Victoria and New South Wales will snow
- There will be light snow on Wednesday, but it will increase in the coming days
- Sydney was shrouded in fog for the second day in a row
It is predicted that a series of cold fronts will destroy the eastern coast and bring a huge mass of snow to the Alpine regions.
The cooler conditions, arriving Thursday, will be a welcome change after a rare downpour over NSW and the ACT earlier this week.
A series of cold fronts driving the change is expected to bring snow more than 50cm deep to the alpine regions of New South Wales and Victoria until next week.
Felix Levesque van Weather zone said rain could melt snow before settling on Thursday, but continued freezing conditions will improve snowfall later in the week
Alpine regions (above) in Victoria and New South Wales and snow forecast this week
More than 50 cm of snow could fall in some snow resorts in the coming days (photo, Mount Hotham)
“The bad news is we have quite a bit of rain on Wednesday on the warmer side of the alpine regions. That rain will continue for the rest of the day, melting the snow,” he told Daily Mail Australia.
The heaviest rain falls over the Alpine region of northeastern Victoria and part of the Alpine region of New South Wales.
“However, we will have a series of cold fronts in the coming days. Today will be the warmest day for those areas.’
Mr Levesque said temperatures in alpine regions will cool throughout the week creating perfect conditions for NSW and Victorian ski resorts.
“The cooler temperatures from today will cause snow levels to drop,” he said.
‘Today’s snow depth is about 2000 meters. Tomorrow snow is expected to fall up to 1200 meters, in line with many snow resorts.
On Friday the level will drop closer to 1000 meters and possibly even to 700 meters on Saturday.
“This could bring snow across the plateaus of New South Wales, which could possibly extend to the Blue Mountains, but that’s less likely.”
Temperatures are expected to drop in the alpine regions later this week, with snow up to 700 meters possible
From Thursday, snow will fall in the alpine areas (above) with snow expected to fall as high as 1200 meters
Sydney residents woke up for the second day in a row on Wednesday to a blanket of fog over the city.
Photos of the skyline show buildings disappearing under the cloud.
“Fog in Sydney right now looks like someone has put a blanket over the whole city,” a local resident tweeted.
A blizzard is predicted to ravage Alpine regions on Thursday, with up to 80 cm of snow falling in the coming days, the Perisher ski resort reported on their website.
The rain continues all Wednesday with limited visibility, so the snow sports conditions are not optimal.
However, the fresh snowfall on weekends will give skiers and snowboarders a weekend of powder snow.
Canberra residents are in for a cold week with daytime temperatures dropping to a maximum of 13C.
A frosty morning with a minimum of 1C is expected on Thursday.
The cold fronts moving across the east coast will bring wind gusts of about 25 km/h.
The strongest winds arrive on the weekend with gusts of up to 40 km/h.
Sydney was covered in a blanket of fog for the second day in a row on Wednesday (pictured, the Sydney Harbor Bridge on Wednesday morning)
A rainy and cold week is forecast for Melbourne residents, with daytime temperatures unlikely to rise above 15 degrees for the next seven days.
The persistent showers and winds will continue for the next few days, with gusts of up to 45 km/h expected on Thursday.
Snow is predicted to fall over the Mt Hotham ski area on Wednesday night, setting the resort ready for powder conditions over the weekend.