|
Tasmanian season kicks off early
Snow has begun falling on Ben Lomond in northern Tasmania. Since
yesterday two inches of snow has fallen on the ski and winter attraction.
A Ben Lomond hotel owner, Colin Mears, says the snow has come early
this year and at this stage things are looking good for the ski
season. "Last year I believe it started a little bit later so such
an early start in the season should see some good signs," he said.
"Yesterday afternoon we had some cover probably two or three inches
and today a bit of rain is slowly starting to move some of it around,
so a couple of inches so far."
Snow in Hotham, Buller and Falls Creek
Heavy snowfalls have been recorded at Victoria's main ski resorts
as wintery conditions swept through metropolitan Melbourne today.The
snowfalls were the first significant ones for the year. Bureau of
Meteorology senior forecaster Dean Stewart said snow had fallen
at the Mt Hotham, Mt Buller and Falls Creek resorts. "We were forecasting
snowfalls," he said. "They've certainly eventuated. Currently they're
sitting on around zero degrees at the moment so it should be snowing
up there."
Mr Stewart said snowfalls in April were "not really all that unusual.
When we get cold outbreaks we can get snow up there in summertime,"
he said. Falls Creek spokeswoman Debbie Howie said with only seven
weeks until the start of the ski season, lift construction was put
on hold today because of heavy snowfalls. Up to 30cm of snow fell
on top of the mountain, she said in a statement.
More than two months early
Attunga Lodge owner Charles Warren said he had never seen so much
snow fall in his 15 years at the resort. "It started to sleet last
night and this morning we discovered it had settled over the entire
resort," Mr Warren said. "It has never been this deep in April in
my time here." The temperature at the resort fell to minus two degrees
overnight. Buller Ski Lifts spokeswoman Sharon Rainsbury said Mt
Buller had also received about 30cm of snow. She said the snowfall
was unseasonal with the first falls for the winter season usually
occurring in early June.
Melbourne's gardens also received a soaking yesterday as more than
half the average April rainfall bucketed the city. The CBD received
41 mm of rain yesterday, while 60 mm fell in some suburbs, Bureau
of Meteorology senior forecaster Dean Stewart said. He said parts
of West Gippsland, south-east of Melbourne, received more than 100
mm of rain. Mr Stewart said Melbourne would experience showers today
and tomorrow.
[Sources: news.com.au
and abconline.com]
Mail
this page to a friend
What do you think? Tell us in the Chat
Room
|
