Canberra residents have described Sunday as the “first proper day of winter” after snow and hail fell on parts of the city, as a cold front brought cooler temperatures to parts of south-eastern Australia.
Rain, hail and snow fell across parts of New South Wales and the ACT, and though temperature lows are not breaking records just yet, Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Gabrielle Woodhouse said “we are entering some of the cooler days seen so far this year”.
“Some places haven’t seen temperatures reached [on Sunday and Monday] since the second half of last year.”
Oh my #Canberra @abccanberra @BOM_ACT pic.twitter.com/adHCuAvU55
— Adam Shirley (@adammshirley) May 7, 2023
Snowfall is expected to develop around the Central Tablelands, Snowy Mountains, near Cooma, the Alpine peaks, and Mount Canobolas. And while 100mm of snow has already covered Perisher, small hail has been spotted in Oberon.
In Belconnen, Canberra, local resident Cormac Farrell described a mixture of snow and hail forming a slush that covered the ground.
“There were a whole bunch of cars at the top of a car park completely coated in a thick layer of slush,” he said.
With about 30cm of slush piling up on some parts of the road, Farrell said it was “quite tricky” to drive.
“The weather is really icy,” he said. “It feels like the first proper day of winter.”
The snowfall is expected to clear by Monday afternoon. Behind it, a cold front is making its way across NSW and ACT, settling in cold temperatures for the next few months.
Canberra had a high of 7.8C so far on Sunday. Other capital cities in the south-east were cool though reached double digits, with a high of 13C degrees in Melbourne, and 15C in Sydney.
Overnight, widespread areas of frost and temperatures of near or below zero are expected “pretty much anywhere on the ranges and further west”.
That would be the #Canberra polar blast?! @abccanberra @BOM_ACT pic.twitter.com/OZlApxduVf
— Adam Shirley (@adammshirley) May 7, 2023
From Monday, the Northern Tablelands, Orange and Bathurst will see overnight temperatures hit minus two degrees. Further south, around the Alpine peaks, Threadbo and Perisher, are looking at temperatures as low as minus five.
Along the coast, though a fraction warmer, the Bureau are issuing weather warnings for powerful winds and waves expected to develop overnight.
Along the Illawarra, through Jarvis Bay and towards Wollongong will be hit by damaging winds. South of Seal Rock, through Newcastle, Sydney, Wollongong, Batemans Bay to Merimbula, damaging surf is expected to hit the coast.
