An early fall of snow has created a winter playground at Ben Lomond
UPDATED: The blanket of snow covering the state’s higher peaks will quickly begin to melt – but it could return again very soon. SEE THE GALLERY
Lifestyle
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UPDATED: TOURISTS and locals have lapped up the wintry conditions that forced a number of road closures, including Pinnacle Rd to kunanyi/Mt Wellington for the entire day.
The blanket of snow covering the state’s higher peaks will begin to melt on Thursday, but could return again on Sunday.
Aaron Martin from the Great Lake Hotel said the snow meant a busy day at the popular Central Highlands pub.
“It’s still snowing — we’ve got about half a metre at the front door,” he said on Wednesday night.
“We are flat out with about 45 people in and we are serving 150 meals tonight.”
The Cradle Mountain Hotel hopes the “beautiful” snow covering will hang around into next week as guests enjoyed the frosty conditions. And the forecast was for more snow overnight and this morning.
Acting general manager Cassandra Wilks said they were expecting snow falls to return again next week.
“At the moment there’s still snow on the ground and blue skies, it’s beautiful conditions,” she said yesterday.
“The guests are loving it, especially the kids, they love playing in it. It’s a wonderful experience. The more people that can head up here, it’s a great thing to see.”
She said the hotel’s focus when it snowed was maintaining and clearing the roads to ensure access for guests.
FORECAST: MORE COLD WEATHER ON THE WAY
Wojt Kowaluk and his son Reuben were some of the lucky few to experience the fresh snowfall at Hartz Mountain.
Mr Kowaluk said it was the second time Reuben had seen snow there. He said the pair took a plastic seesaw to use as a toboggan which they ended up using as a shovel when their vehicle became slightly stuck in the snow.
Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Tim Bolden said snow was expected to fall down to 700m above sea level on Friday, but will gradually retreat above the highest mountain peaks. It is expected to return again on Sunday with snow settling above 900m in the evening.
Tasmania Police have reminded motorists to drive to the conditions.
A number of roads were closed on Wednesday, including Highland Lakes Rd, Central Plateau, Cradle Mountain Rd, Dove Lake Rd and Poatina Main Rd. Lake Dobson Tourist Rd and Pinnicle Rd remained closed on Wednesday night.
EARLIER: Tasmania has woken to a blanket of snow today as frosty conditions persist across the state.
Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Tim Bolden said falls settled to 500m above sea level right across the state last night.
Several roads have been closed due to snow and ice including Pinnacle Rd to kunanyi/Mt Wellington.
Snow has settled down to the gate at The Springs.
Mr Bolden said the snow would begin to melt early tomorrow.
He said snow would fall to 700m until midnight but would be above the highest mountain peaks by tomorrow.
Hobart is heading for a top of 10C today, with 13C forecast for Thursday.
EARLIER: Police have advised that there is a “significant amount of ice” on the Midlands Highway at Spring Hill.
In a brief statement at 6.40am, Tasmania Police said members of the public were reminded to drive to the conditions around Tasmania.
Highland Lakes Rd, Central Plateau is closed from the intersection with Haulage Rd through to the intersection with Golden Valley Rd, Golden Valley, while Cradle Mountain Rd, Dove Lake Rd, and Poatina Main Rd are also closed.
Police urged the public to check the Tasmania Police website for relevant up-to-date road closures.
EARLIER: AN early blanket of snow has settled on Ben Lomond as icy weather continues across the state.
Heavy snow has the local ski hire business scrambling to prepare for the approaching season.
“There is snow cover on Ben Lomond, great for snow play, not quite enough to open up yet, but very soon,” said Ben Lomond Snow Sports co-owner Flea Foot.
Ms Foot said there were no ski services operating on Ben Lomond yet.
“We ... have literally been caught mid-renovating,” she said.
“Everything happened at once and this amount of snow this early is very unusual.”
Snow on kunanyi/Mt Wellington has led to closure of Pinnacle Rd at the Springs.
Victorian visitors Rowena Goldsmith and Brett Sinclair capped off a four-day visit to Hobart with a trip to the Springs.
“We were a bit disappointed we couldn’t get all the way to the top, but it was still lovely and fresh and we got to see snow in the distance,” Ms Goldsmith said.
The snow level is set to drop to around 500m on Wednesday as temperatures continue to fall.
A maximum of 10C is expected in Hobart.
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