Springtime snow dusts Hobart as cold air blows up from Antarctica
Parts of Tasmania have been dusted with springtime snow, with a weather system dumping more rain on the already drenched state.
Snow reached as low as 400 metres on Tuesday morning and falls settled on areas including Hobart’s kunanyi/Mt Wellington, south of the capital and the Central Highlands.
The acting director of the State Emergency Service, Leon Smith, said there were reports of a brief snow flurry in Hobart.
The Bureau of Meteorology’s Luke Johnston said snowfalls would lift to 700 metres on Wednesday, with the cold snap considered normal in spring.
“We do end up getting some interesting systems this time of the year … an epic battle between the warmer weather coming from the north, and the Antarctic air coming up from the south,” he said.
Hobart received 30mm of rain by about midday on Tuesday, while there was up to 70mm at Scotts Peak in the state’s south-west.
Low-level flood emergency warnings were in place for several rivers in the state’s south and south-east.
Smith said the SES had fielded eight calls for assistance.
“The jobs we’ve seen are motor vehicle accident-related … due to people potentially not heeding our advice and the advice of police and not driving to the conditions as they change,” he said.
“It’s really important that people monitor the conditions.”
Another cold front is expected towards the end of the weekend.
Record rain in the state’s north in mid-October caused flooding that damaged about 100 properties, plus roads and bridges.