SNOW blanketed towns and villages throughout the North East yesterday as the alpine resorts shivered through one of their coldest August days on record.
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Mount Hotham’s top temperature was minus 5 degrees, two degrees colder than its previous lowest maximum recorded in 1980 according to the Bureau of Meteorology’s website.
Falls Creek peaked at minus 4 degrees.
The icy blast also kept the lid on temperatures in Albury-Wodonga with a maximum of just 9 degrees.
The Albury’s coldest August day at the present Albury airport weather station was 8.2 degrees in 1995, but the mercury fell to 6.1 degrees on August 16, 1970 at the previous station located at the waterworks.
At Harrietville and Bogong Village residents awoke to a sea of white and snow falls continued through the morning.
At Stanley, near Beechworth, the oval was transformed into a winter playground fit for tobogganing and snowball fights.
Stanley’s Neil Higgins and his wife had their Sunday sleep-in interrupted yesterday when they were dragged out into the snow by their daughters.
“They were up at 7.30am and straight out into the snow with beanies and gloves,” Mr Higgins said.
“We have been here five years and most winters there has been a dusting but this is the heaviest fall we’ve seen.
“The girls are at the oval now with about 50 or 60 other kids — tobogganing, throwing snow balls.
“It is pretty special up here at the moment.”
Drivers were having to fit chains to their cars at the boom gate just above Harrietville yesterday morning.
Owner of the village’s general store Peter Norris said it was the first time they had snow settle this winter.
“There was a blanket of white on the cars and roofs this morning.”
Operator of the Bogong Village general store Helle Borup said the village, halfway between Mount Beauty and Falls Creek, was pretty as a picture.
It was still snowing late in the morning.
“We had a dusting on Saturday morning and it snowed here about a month ago but this is the first time it has settled in,” she said.
“The road is clear but it is white everywhere else.”
Snow is expected to fall as low as 600m this morning rising to about 1000m by tonight.
Lake Hume was almost one-quarter full yesterday. At the same time last year it was at 21.8 per cent of capacity.
