Up to 40 centimetres of snow has blanketed Tasmania’s Central Plateau, but the wintry scenes are expected to fade quickly as rain is about to move across the state.
The cold snap swept across Tasmania on Thursday and into Friday morning, driving the snow level as low as 300 metres in the south-west and leaving Hobart residents waking to another striking view of a snow-covered Kunanyi/Mount Wellington.
Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Ellie Mathews said the heaviest snowfalls hit higher ground through the Central Plateau, the mountainous west and parts of the far south.
“We did see some observations of around 300 meters, around 300 to 400 meters we saw some snow flurries about those parts,” she told Pulse.
Mathews said the bureau does not formally measure snowfall in Tasmania, but based on forecast rainfall data, accumulations of 20 to 30 centimetres were likely through the west and Central Plateau at higher elevations.
However, the window for widespread snow is now closing as a warm front moves over the state, with rain expected to fall on top of existing snow and rapidly melt much of what has built up.
“We’re actually expecting a fair bit of snow melt in the next 24 to 36 hours or so as we see rain on top of the snow,” Mathews said.
Moderate rainfall is forecast for western Tasmania through Friday and into the weekend.
Road closures and dangerous driving conditions have followed, with very cold temperatures raising the risk of black ice across elevated areas.
Damaging westerly winds accompanied Thursday’s front, with gusts reaching 128 km/h at Maatsuyker Island, 119 km/h at Tasman Island and 115 km/h at Cape Bruny.
Hartz Mountain and Kunanyi/Mount Wellington both recorded gusts of 109 km/h, while Cape Grim saw 104 km/h.
Anyone travelling through affected areas is urged to take extra care on roads where ice and slush may linger.
