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Snow my, it's about to dump down

Australia's ski season is about to take a big leap in the right direction, with the best snowfall of the season occurring during the next five days.

A series of cold fronts and low pressure systems will deliver multiple bouts of snow between tonight and Monday. Heavy falls are likely this weekend and total natural snow accumulations from this event will be in the range of 50-100cm at Australia's main ski resorts.

The leading system in this barrage of fronts will carry some warm inland air towards the alps today, causing a mix of snow and rain initially. However, once temperatures drop from tonight, it's all snow until Monday.

The impending period of powder continues an impressive recovery by the Australian snow season following a remarkably sluggish start this year.

June was a troubling month for natural snow, with only a few centimetres of cover left on the ground at Spencer's Creek - located between Perisher and Thredbo - at the end of the month.

The alps made up for June's poor form with around one metre of natural snow accumulating during July. This was a remarkable feat in a month that saw almost every other district in NSW and eastern Victoria receive less than 20 per cent of their average July rainfall.

The natural snow depth has increased even further during the last week and after a slow start to the season, Australia's alps are going to be looking in top form early next week.

Unfortunately, the passage of fronts will cause periods of blustery winds between now and Monday, likely causing some lifts to be on hold. The best days to hit the slopes will be from Tuesday next week, as a high pressure system drifts over the alps and bluebirds return to the mountains.

- Weatherzone

© Weatherzone 2017

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