After a cold front ushered in a polar airmass overnight, this was the scene in the village square at Victoria's Mt Buller ski resort, about three hours northeast of Melbourne, just after 9am.
© ski.com.au.Around 5cm of snow on the ground at Mt Buller on Thursday, May 7, 2026.
How cold is it this Thursday morning?
At 9am this Thursday, May 7, many temperature readings in Tasmania and the southeastern mainland were similar to what you'd expect on the coldest days of winter. For example:
Notable Victorian 9am temperatures
Mt Hotham was -5.3°C with an apparent or "feels like" temperature of -14.1°C due to strong southwesterly winds.
Melbourne Airport was 6.2°C, with an apparent temperature of -0.2°C.
Melbourne was 7.1°C with an apparent temperature of 3.7°C.
Notable New South Wales 9am temperatures
Thredbo Top Station was -6.2°C with an apparent temperature of -15.3°C. The site recorded Australia's lowest overnight minimum of -6.5°C just after 8am.
Cooma Airport was 1.1°C with an apparent temperature of -4.0°C. Snow was falling in the area at the time (elevation 930m), with a few flakes even reported down in the town of Cooma itself at 800m.
Notable ACT 9am temperatures
Mt Ginini was -4.2°C with an apparent temperature of -10.6°C.
Notable Tasmanian 9am temperatures
kunanyi/Mt Wellington was -3°C with an apparent temperature of -6.2°C.
The tiny town of Liawenee was -0.9°C with an apparent temperature of -8°C.
How long will this cold outbreak last?
This is quite a powerful system for autumn, and a very cold one, but it was never destined to be a long-lived weather event.
While showers and snowfalls can be expected to persist through Thursday and into Friday in Tasmania and southern Victoria, conditions will clear rapidly north of the Murray River.
Indeed, steady snowfalls have already eased at Thredbo in NSW, while heavy snow showers are persisting this Thursday morning in Victoria's southernmost two ski areas, Mt Buller and Mt Baw Baw.
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