Southern Hemisphere Weekly Roundup #254

New Zealand Braces for Fresh Snow After Recent Powder Days

• Australian ski resorts are experiencing some of the best conditions of the season, with most resorts fully open and good snow depth.
• New Zealand resorts are benefiting from recent snowfalls, particularly in the South Island, with more snow expected by the weekend.
• Argentina and Chile are reporting excellent conditions, with resorts like Las Leñas and Valle Nevado boasting deep snowpacks and most terrain open.

WORLD OVERVIEW

Fresh snowfall has been reported across most mountainous regions in the Southern Hemisphere this past week. Although the snowfall hasn’t been huge, the Andes and New Zealand are doing particularly well again. In New Zealand's case, the fresh snow has allowed at least one centre that had been waiting for adequate cover to finally open for its 2024 season. Currently, the deepest reported snowpack in the world and the resort with the most open terrain are both in Argentina. North America's 23-24 season is set to finally end this coming weekend, with the last snow centers that have been open in the US since last autumn finally calling it a day. This comes just over two months before the first centres are expected to open for winter 24-25! In the Alps, temperatures have remained hot, staying well above freezing even on glaciers, with hardly any drops below zero overnight. As a result, the annual thaws are well underway, the snowpack is diminishing quickly, and the amount of open terrain continues to drop. In Scandinavia, the Fonna and Galdhøpiggen ski areas remain open for team training but are currently closed to the general public. Fonna reports that teams from Canada, Germany, Norway, Slovenia, and Sweden have been training there this week. Southern Hemisphere There have been more snowfalls in New Zealand as well as in the southern half of Argentina and Chile over the past week, leading to some great blue-sky powder days once the fronts moved through. Snow depths have been building as a result, most noticeably in New Zealand, where more centers are now fully open, and some that hadn't managed to open at all until this week now have enough snow to operate. Australia saw only lighter showers and mostly dry conditions this week, but the snow coverage remains as good as it's been all season, with most centers fully open or nearly so. Meanwhile, across South America, ski areas in Argentina and Chile continue to offer the largest open ski areas and deepest snow in the world at present.

SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE

AUSTRALIA REPORT

It’s been a largely dry and sunny week in Australia, with temperatures ranging from -5°C to +8°C throughout the 24-hour cycle. This means a freeze-thaw pattern with cold enough conditions for snowmaking at times. Conditions remain around the best they've been all season, with most of the country's resorts close to fully open. The largest resort, Perisher (609/125 cm or 24/50 inches), is ticking all the boxes with the deepest reported snow depth in the country and the highest percentage of terrain open (over 90% of runs with 100% of lifts). Perisher also boasts the most available terrain in the country—over 60 km (37 miles) of runs. Thredbo (52/124 cm or 21/49 inches) isn’t far behind in snow depth or open terrain. Hotham (54/82 cm or 22/33 inches) and Falls Creek (52/95 cm or 21/38 inches) are also looking good with their best depths of winter and around 85% of slopes open. Mt Buller (46/86 cm or 18/34 inches), which struggled with only 5% of its slopes open for the first six weeks or so of winter, now has about two-thirds of its runs skiable. Meanwhile, Selwyn Resort is celebrating enough snow to open its terrain park for the first time this season.

AUSTRALIA FORECAST

Mostly sunny weather is expected, but unfortunately, it does look like it will be rather warm, with temperatures ranging from 0°C to 11°C over the coming week. Temperatures may not dip as far and widely below freezing overnight as they have for much of the season so far. There are also signs that precipitation may fall as rain and sleet on lower slopes rather than snow.

NEW ZEALAND REPORT

New Zealand has experienced a week of snow showers interspersed with sunny spells following more substantial accumulations just over a week ago. Temperatures have mostly been in the -5°C to +5°C range. However, wind has sometimes impacted operations, with areas like Mt Dobson closed on Tuesday due to strong winds. Many areas posted 20-25 cm (8-10 inches) of snow in the latter half of last week, followed by some blue-sky days. However, some centers reported that the snow was heavy and wet. The Manganui Ski Area, run by the Stratford Mountain Club, which was the first in the Southern Hemisphere to open for the season one recent winter, still says there's not enough snow for it to open yet, and a few other centers have said the same. Broken River Ski Area reported 23 cm (9 inches) of new snow at Palmer Lodge level, allowing it to finally open for the season at the weekend. Mt Lyford Ski Area described their 21 cm (8 inches) of snowfall as "wet kamikaze" that was wind-affected. Most larger commercial areas posted powder days on Friday and Saturday and said the snow was good for building a base. At Mt Hutt (87/162 cm or 35/65 inches), that base has now built to the deepest in the country, and it reports its 40 km (25 miles) of slopes as 100% open. Coronet Peak (40/120 cm or 16/48 inches) and Treble Cone (30/160 cm or 12/64 inches) report similarly, as do several others. It's still a mixed picture on the North Island, though, where Whakapapa (39/49 cm or 16/20 inches) on one side of Mt Ruapehu continues to struggle to open much terrain at all, while Turoa (23/93 cm or 9/37 inches) on the other side is almost fully open now.

NEW ZEALAND FORECAST

It appears we are in a dry and sunny midweek period, with temperatures ranging from around -8°C overnight at high altitudes to +5°C on lower slopes in the afternoons. A fresh front is expected to move in by the weekend, bringing increasingly heavy snowfall across the country's peaks.

ARGENTINA REPORT

There have been mixed fortunes in Argentina this week, with provinces like Neuquén to the south seeing quite a lot of fresh snowfall, while Mendoza has had more sunshine. Temperatures have also been colder under clear skies further south, typically freezing down to -10°C, while more northerly centers have seen -5°C to +5°C. Conditions remain good across the country, and Catedral (40/160 cm or 16/64 inches), which had many slopes closed a week ago due to a big storm, is back up to 100 km (63 miles) of open runs, the most in the world at present for a single resort. Las Leñas (140/330 cm or 56/132 inches) has about 75% of its runs open, and the new snowfalls have given it the deepest snowpack in the world. Chapelco (90/310 cm or 36/124 inches) is the only other ski area on the planet posting a 3-meter (10-foot) plus base at present, with 95% of its slopes open. Most Argentinian areas have at least 70% of their terrain open, with Cerro Bayo (5/90 cm or 2/36 inches) posting 100% despite having one of the smaller bases.

ARGENTINA FORECAST

A largely sunny forecast continues for Mendoza, but there's more intermittent snowfall expected in Neuquén province through the latter half of this week. Overnight lows down to -10°C are forecast, rising to +7°C at the warmest part of the afternoon.

CHILE REPORT

It has been a largely sunny week in Chile, with temperatures a little higher than they have been recently. Overnight lows are only dropping three or four degrees below freezing, with afternoon highs reaching +10°C at times. Conditions remain excellent across the country’s slopes, with most resorts between 80 and 100% open. Valle Nevado (180/290 cm or 72/116 inches) is one of those with all slopes open, and it has joined Nevados de Chillán (215/290 cm or 86/116 inches) in posting the deepest base in the country on its higher slopes. Valle Nevado and linked La Parva (180/290 cm or 72/116 inches) and El Colorado (60/135 cm or 24/54 inches) together offer about 100 km (63 miles) of open slopes, one of the largest ski areas open in the world at present. Portillo (128/195 cm or 51/78 inches) also reports its slopes are 100% open.

CHILE FORECAST

It looks like it will be snowier in the southern half of the country over the latter half of the week, with midweek and weekend snowfalls expected. It will stay dry and sunny north of Santiago, though. Temperatures will range from -5°C to +5°C on higher slopes, with a few degrees colder at ski centre base levels.

SOUTH AFRICA REPORT

Yet another mostly sunny week in Southern Africa as we enter the last three weeks of meteorological winter and the 2024 ski season in Lesotho. It’s still getting a degree or two below freezing overnight, but not as cold as it has been, with afternoon temperatures reaching +10°C. However, the main run remains complete, as does the beginner area, with ski team training taking place over the last week.

SOUTH AFRICA FORECAST

No real change is expected in the coming week, with more dry, sunny conditions forecast. Temperatures are gradually climbing and could reach double digits for longer in the afternoons, while still dropping to freezing at night.