Snow coats Jindabyne as October polar blast freezes south east Australia

While parts of the country swelter under an early summer, others are in the middle of a bizarre polar blast midway through October.

While parts of the country swelter under an early summer, others are in the middle of a bizarre October polar blast.

A heavy stint of snow falling across the mountains of New South Wales, Victoria, and Tasmania have produced some mind-blowing images for those who spent the weekend sweating.

Those living in the rural town of Jindabyne posted pictures of their farms completely coated in snow, as temperatures plummeted below 0C.

A short clip showed horses frolicking among the ice without a patch of grass to be seen.

Locals in Thredbo had a high of -3.6°C by midday on Monday, with an apparent temperature of -13.5°C.

Jindabyne is snowing in October.

Temperatures have plummeted below zero in parts of NSW.

A short clip showed horses frolicking among the ice without a patch of grass to be seen.

Snow fell to relatively low levels by midmorning, with flakes settling as low as 700 meters above sea level in Tasmania, 1100 meters in the Snowy Mountains of NSW and similar levels in Victoria.

Snow enthusiasts could observe the snowline on Perisher‘s Front Valley run in NSW, with the level initially at about 1800 meters but dropping as colder air arrived.

Weather conditions were wintry from Canberra southward, with Melbourne experiencing a temperature of 11°C at 11:30am, Canberra at 11.7°C (dropping to 5.7°C with heavy showers at 1 PM), and Sydney at 24.1°C at 11:30am.

Canberra and Melbourne are expected to return to temperatures in the mid-20s by Wednesday or Thursday, and the snow in the snowfields was unlikely to last beyond Tuesday morning.

It's a f-f-f-freezing Monday across most of SE Australia, with a "feels like" temp of MINUS 13.5°C at #Thredbo at midday 🥶, while #Canberra's actual temp was just 5.7°C at 1 pm. Pic was taken near #Jindabyne today. Rug up!

More at https://t.co/QzkY14Y1pT

📷 via Phil Richmond pic.twitter.com/qXQkjrSvPu

— Weatherzone (@weatherzone) October 16, 2023

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Originally published as Snow coats Jindabyne as October polar blast freezes south east Australia