Southern Hemisphere Weekly Roundup #238

Winter Beckons: Australian Resorts Gear Up for June Opening Amidst Sunny Days and Frosty Nights

• Countdown to the Australian ski season: Resorts are gearing up for a June 8th opening, with mostly sunny weather and below-freezing temperatures at night.
• Sunny conditions in New Zealand: Despite sunshine, temperatures ranging from -5°C to +10°C prevail, inhibiting snow survival, but potential for cooler weather and snowfall towards the weekend.
• Early snowfall in South America: South American ski areas, especially in the southern regions, are experiencing more snow showers and cooler temperatures, hinting at promising conditions for early snowfall.

REPORT

Australian resorts celebrated 50 days to go to the start of their 2024 season at the end of last week, with most of the country’s ski areas targeting June 8th, the start of a long holiday weekend, for their opening day. It’s been mostly sunny there this week although temperatures have dropped below freezing up high overnight, +10C in the daytime. Lots of sunshine in New Zealand too where temperatures have ranged between -5 and +10C. However South American ski areas, particularly the more southerly options, have seen more snow showers this week and temperatures in the -5 to +5C range. Catedral near Bariloche, the continent’s largest ski area in terms of uplift, saw its upper mountain turn white at the start of the week.

FORECAST

Sunny weather continues to dominate with overnight lows getting below freezing under clear skies on high slopes in Australia and New Zealand ski slopes, However, daytime temperatures of +10C or so are too warm for any snow to survive yet, if there’s any left from the falls earlier this month. It;’s possible more snow will arrive with cooler temperatures in New Zealand towards the weekend though. The Andes and southerly South American mountains continue to look more promising for early snowfall though with cooler temperatures and more pre-season snow showers forecast.