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First day of winter brings cold blast to Victoria – and it’s heading north

It was a chilly minus 1 at Mt Hotham on Monday morning, a good sign skiers will get a decent run this year.

It was a chilly minus 1 at Mt Hotham on Monday morning, a good sign skiers will get a decent run this year. Photo: AAP

The first day of winter in Victoria has brought chilly temperatures to much of the state and welcome heavy snow to ski fields in the state’s north-west.

North of the border, NSW resorts are also set to enjoy their first snowfalls of winter this week as a chilly blast moves north and east.

According to forecaster Weatherzone, Mount Buller in Victoria was the coldest place in Australia before 9am on Monday, at -1.8 degrees.

It was closely followed by -1.4 degrees at Ouse in Tasmania, while Butler’s Gorge (Tasmania) rounded out the nation’s top three coldest places with -1.3 degrees.

In Victoria, the cold snap that ushered in winter on Monday brought up to 10 centimetres of snow to the resorts of Mount Hotham and Falls Creek.

Mouth Hotham resort photographer Chris Hocking said he expected the snow to keep falling on Monday.

“We woke up there to a fresh coating of snow and it has intensified as well. It is great scenes for the first day of winter,” he said.

Mount Buller also notched a couple centimetres of snow after 7.30am, raising optimism ahead of the season opener on June 22.

“We are delighted to have some snow and are working towards the 22nd of June – that is, of course, conditions permitting … with snow falling on the first day of winter that is wonderful to see,” a spokeswoman said.

 

NSW escaped the worst of the chill on Monday, but can expect to feel the wintry blast as the week goes on. Temperatures in much of the state’s south are forecast to remain in single figures in coming days, along with showers and strong westerly winds.

Canberra is forecast to have a top of just 13 degrees on Tuesday.

The cold blast is expected to also bring plenty of rain. In Victoria’s north-east, Matong North topped the rain charts with 31 millimetres of rain in the 24 hours to 9am on Monday.

 

Most of southern Victoria had between three and 10 millimetres of rain in the same period, while less than five millimetres fell in the north-west.

South Australia has already borne the brunt of the early winter blast. South Australia’s State Emergency Service had more than 150 callouts as strong winds and heavy rain hit Adelaide late on Sunday and Monday morning.

In the city’s north, there are widespread reports of roof damage, fallen trees and minor flooding.

Twelve millimetres of rain fell in the city overnight, with up to 40 millimetres in the Adelaide Hills.

Tasmania will get a day or two’s grace before the chill arrives in the island state. By the end of the week, maximum temperatures in Hobart and Launceston are expected to reach only 11 degrees.

Back in Victoria, Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Miriam Bradbury said another bout of rain was expected to hit Melbourne about 5pm on Monday.

Melbourne was forecast to reach a chilly top of 13 degrees on Monday, a sharp fall from 17 on Sunday.

-with AAP

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