Gungahlin Weather Centre - 2008 Snow Season starts

2008 Ski Season starts - but where's the snow?

10 June 2008.

Despite early indications looking positive for a great start to the 2008 Australian Ski Season, the opening weekend has come and gone with little more than patches of man made snow at the the major resorts.


Hopes of a bumper start were heightened with the mountains receiving unseasonably heavy snow falls in February, March and April. In fact, it was the coldest April recorded in the snowies for 30 years, with Perisher , Thredbo and Selwyn snowfields receiving 10cm of snow on the slopes on the last weekend of April.

Selwyn Snowfields - 30 April 2008	Perisher Valley - 30 April 2008	Crackenback - 30 April 2008


In contrast, on 7 June (the official start to the 2008 season) no natural snow was recorded on the ground anywhere in the mountains, and even the top of Mt. Kosciuszko was bare of snow.
Selwyn Snowfields - 7 June 2008	Perisher Valley - 7 June April 2008	Crackenback - 7 June 2008

Having no natural snow on the ground for the opening weekend is not rare, and isn't necessarily a signal of a poor season ahead. What is unusual, and possibly concerning, are the temperatures recorded at the major resorts for the first 10 days of winter:


	Thredbo Village (1,370m)		Perisher Valley (1,735m)		Crackenback (1,957m)

	Min	Max	Min	Max	Min	Max

June 1	-5.0°C	10.3°C	-6.0°C	13.0°C	-3.4°C	7.8°C
June 2	-3.5°C	11.2°C	-6.5°C	9.0°C	-1.0°C	7.6°C
June 3	-1.8°C	9.5°C	-3.0°C	7.5°C	-0.1°C	5.9°C
June 4	2.5°C	6.9°C	3.0°C	5.0°C	2.3°C	3.1°C
June 5	3.4°C	8.0°C	1.0°C	5.0°C	-0.1°C	4.9°C
June 6	-3.5°C	9.2°C	-5.0°C	9.5°C	-3.6°C	8.0°C
June 7	-5.0°C	8.5°C	-6.0°C	9.0°C	-2.6°C	6.9°C
June 8	-3.0°C	9.9°C	-5.0°C	10.0°C	-2.2°C	9.0°C
June 9	-2.5°C	9.5°C	-2.5°C	7.0°C	-0.3°C	7.1°C
June 10	-0.5°C	9.2°C	0.0°C	4.0°C	1.3°C	3.1°C


Normal June temperatures	-2.5°C	6.6°C	-3.6°C	3.8°C	-4.0°C	1.4°C

Despite the poor start many people (me included) are predicting an above average snow fall this winter. Long range forecaster John Moore has predicted a solid start to the season, consistent snowfalls in June and July and above average in August, which he said should keep the season in good shape through to October.

There is some good news on the horizon, with the seasons first snow falls expected this Friday, 13 June - with the official Bureau of Meteorology forecasting "Showers, falling as snow above 1,400 metres, possibly lowering to 1,200m". - lets hope so!

Sources: Gungahlin Weather Centre. Canberra Times (6 June 2008). Images from ski.com.au