As bushfires rage out of control in Victoria and parts of Queensland count the cost of recent floods, residents in the NSW Snowy Mountains and Tasmania woke this morning to find snow on the ground.
The Bureau of Meteorology had forecast snow to fall above 1,700 metres in the NSW alps today, but some locals have reported sightings of snow flurries as low as Cooma at 800m elevation.
Further south, snowfields in Tasmania recorded up to 5 centimetres of snow down to 1,500 metres.
Errol Hanlon from the Thredbo Alpine Museum said snow settled on shady ground, car windscreens, back decks and some rooftops around the village.
"We definitely woke up to a snow flurry," he said.
"It's an early present for all the little kids running around in their pyjamas this morning trying to make snowballs and snowmen."
The snow caused excitement at Thredbo Village. (Supplied: Errol Hanlon, Thredbo Alpine Museum)
Thredbo Top Station recorded a low of -2.3 degrees Celsius just before 8am, a stark contrast to other parts of northern NSW where total fire bans have been declared.
Mr Hanlon described snowfall at this time of year as "unusual", especially given the 30-degree temperatures experienced last week.
"The climate here is as radical as the rest of Australia," he said.
"It's swings and roundabouts and it's pretty hard to predict.
"This is the first time this has happened in the last eight or nine years."
Snowfall in Tasmania
Between 3 and 5cm of snow fell overnight down to around 1,500 metres at Ben Lomond Alpine Resort in Tasmania.
Managing director Ben Mock had seen the snow forecast but said snowfall was always a pleasant surprise, especially so close to Christmas.
Snow fell at Ben Lomond Alpine Resort in Tasmania, but it had all melted by lunchtime. (Supplied: Ben Lomond Alpine Resort)
"It's just a nice dusting pre-Christmas," he said.
"When you do get a fair chunk of snow come through, it will hang around for quite a few hours. But when the daylight comes through and the sun comes out, it goes very quickly."
Most of the snow had melted by midday.
Mr Mock said snowfall all year round was not unusual in Tasmania.
There were two separate dumps — both of half a metre — in November and December 2022.
Mr Mock said there was another cold front forecast for the end of December this year or start of January 2025, which could bring more snowfall further south around Hobart.
"It just comes when Mother Nature says, 'Here I come'," he said.
Snow at Ben Lomond Alpine Resort, where temperatures were around 0 degrees until 10 am. (Supplied: Ben Lomond Snow Sports)
No white Christmas
As exciting as it is to see snow fall in summertime, it is not expected to last.
Mountainwatch.com editor Reggae Ellis, based in Jindabyne, NSW, said a southerly cold front blew in quickly during the night, causing temperatures to plummet.
"If it gets to around 0 degrees, which can happen pretty quickly with cold air coming out of the Southern Ocean straight off Antarctica, you'll get showers falling as snow," he said.
"You get these cold changes, but it's very unusual to get a blanket of snow covering the ground."
Snow was spotted at Thredbo Resort this morning, but didn't stick around. (Supplied: Thredbo Resort)
He said snow settled on the mountain bike tracks above Thredbo but disappeared as the sun warmed up the ground.
Mr Ellis said he did not expect it to stick around, especially until Christmas Day.
"It's mainly sunny now, with a cold southerly wind," he said.
"It's going to be 27 degrees in Jindabyne on Christmas Day, so you'll need to keep the prawns and the beers on ice.
"It won't be like winter."
A cold front across southern NSW brought a surprise snow flurry to Thredbo. (Supplied: Errol Hanlon, Thredbo Alpine Museum)