Wintry blast hits Victoria, with snow in alpine regions
Wintry weather returned to Victoria on Friday when a cold blast from Antarctica delivered a chilly change.
Temperatures across the state were 8 to 15 degrees below average because of a cold front, the weather bureau’s senior meteorologist Dean Narramore said.
Temperatures are below average across Victoria, as rain returns. Credit:Eddie Jim
The polar air has come from Antarctica, causing the unseasonable shift in the weather, he said.
Temperatures dropped to 6 degrees at Ferny Creek, 8 degrees at Melbourne Airport, 9 degrees at Frankston and the city the overnight low was 11 degrees.
“But of course with the wind it felt 3 or 4 degrees colder than that, and it’s why [for] people heading out to work this morning it felt like it was in the single digits … it’s definitely cold out there,” Narramore said.
The highest mark the temperature was expected to reach on Friday was 17 degrees, but the forecaster said it was more likely the mercury would hover between 12 and 14 degrees.
The Thredbo weather cam shows fresh snowfall on Friday morning.Credit:Thredbo
“A cold wintry day on the way for Melbourne as well as much of the state,” Narramore said.
The front would also bring some rain, but it wasn’t expected to be enough to cause flash flooding.
“Just a really wild and windy day with showers, small hail and possible thunderstorms as well,” he said.
The windy conditions would last into the weekend and would make it feel colder than it was, he added.
In alpine areas there would be a few centimetres of snow but with the warm ground, it was unlikely to last, the forecaster said.
“We’ve had snow in Victoria every month of the year, but [in] January and February its more unusual compared to other months, but it’s not record-breaking,” he said.
The wintry blast would reach from the south-west coast, to Bendigo and Gippsland.
The conditions are expected to linger until Tuesday when it would rebound to temperatures in the mid-20s.
“By this time next week many of us should be heading outside with more summery weather,” Narramore said.
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