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2.30pm
VicRoads has closed the Great Alpine Road near Harrietville due to heavy snow fall and severe weather, causing poor visibility.
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe weather warning for North East Victoria, with localised damaging winds up to 90kmh, showers and thunderstorms possible.
1.50pm
A record-breaking wet and cold August in parts of the Border has seen winter-like conditions extend into spring.
The Bureau of Meteorology’s Richard Carlyon said there was potential for snow to fall down to 300m overnight Monday into Tuesday.
Mr Carlyon said August’s chilly weather would continue, with no ‘springtime weather’ in the predictable future.
The season’s cold start comes after a colder than normal August, with above average rainfall.
Mount Hotham was the wettest place in Victoria last month, named by the Bureau as home to the coldest days on average, -1, coldest day in the state, -5.4, coldest night, -10.4, and coldest nights on average, -4.6.
The mountain also had the coolest overall average temperature of -2.9.
Mount Hotham’s cold streak broke its existing lowest August temperature of -9.3, setting a new record.
Falls Creek’s Rocky Valley recorded the wettest day in Victoria, with 135mm, and the wettest overall area, with 498.8mm for the month.
Mr Carlyon said a “very unstable” cold airstream was coming across the region from the west, causing bad weather through the early part of the week.
He said it had been a very long snow season this year in the alpine region, including Falls Creek and Mount Hotham, with no signs of it slowing.
He said snow might appear at low altitudes across Monday night and Tuesday.
“It looks as though this could be the strongest cold outbreak [this season],” he said. “The snow level is sitting at about 800m [on Monday] onto 300m overnight Monday and staying most of tomorrow before increasing to 700m.”
The bureau said resorts could expect 10 to 30cm of snow on Monday and Tuesday before the snow eased, to return later on Thursday.
“It’s fairly good snow fall for the first week of spring,” Mr Carlyon said.
Previously:
Spring is in the air – but soon snow might be too.
If Border towns are going to receive a dusting of snow this year, this might be their last chance.
The Bureau of Meteorology has forecast snow to fall above 400m on Monday and into early Tuesday.
The bureau said moderate to heavy falls could be possible for the Beechworth, Stanley and Tumbarumba.
Beechworth sits at an altitude of 533m, Stanley 734m, and Tumbarumba 654m.
A severe weather warning has been issued for damaging winds and thunderstorms around Falls Creek.
The bureau forecast a chilly start to September but expect weather to warm up across spring.
Despite the cool start to September, the bureau is predicting a warmer than average spring in the region.
Warm sea surfaces off the coasts will cause warm nights across eastern Australia.