‘Snow-vember’: Polar blast surge in five states

In the Snowy Mountains, up to 35cm of snow was recorded on the Perisher Snow Stake about 8am on Wednesday.

“Heavy snow also fell in the Victorian Alps, with similar depths to NSW, while snow is coating the mountains around Canberra,” Weatherzone meteorologist Anthony Sharwood said.

Last night was the coldest November night in 16 years in Sydney, while Tuesday marked the coldest November day in as many years for Melbourne.

The strength of the late spring cold front was considered “quite remarkable” as snowfall was reported in lower altitudes and well beyond the back-country.

Snow was reported near Ballarat, in central Victoria, with property owners filming the powder dusting their garden.

On Wednesday morning, snow was also reported around Orange on the NSW Central Tablelands.

“These are the sorts of places that expect a light dusting at least once or twice each winter, but unlike the mountain regions, snow at this time of year is extremely unusual,” Mr Sharwood said.

Temperatures sunk well below zero overnight as the air mass began to dry out, with a low of -6.1C recorded at Thredbo Top Station.

At Falls Creek in Victoria and Mount Ginini in the ACT the temperature fell to -5C.

In Tasmania, the lowest temperature was -3.4C at Mount Wellington.

Another cold night is expected on Wednesday for most states.

While the weather has been grim in the southeast states for a number of months, there is good news on the horizon.

Winds are expected to swing around to a northerly aspect, bringing warmer weather to the hardest hit capital cities of Melbourne and Adelaide later this week.

“A spell of fine weather should set in for the next week or so for much of the country, especially in the areas that were most severely impacted by this week‘s unseasonable cold spell,” Mr Sharwood said.

Temperatures in Adelaide should reach the low 30s for the first time this spring.