Industry News
Thredbo Ski Resort has announced that the resort will be closed from today onwards. As a heat wave is sweeping over south-eastern Australia, strong winds of between 45-65 kmh (28-40 mph) have put all remaining lifts at Thredbo on windhold and Stuart Diver, Thredbo’s General Manager, announced in a message to lodges across the resort, that ski lifts will not reopen again at all this season.
“Hi Everyone,
With the continued high temperatures and strong winds the Cruiser area will not make it to tomorrow. We will be closing for skiing and snowboarding as of today. Please share with your teams and guests.
Thanks to everyone who helped us to get this far in the season. September 17 in a year like this is in an incredible achievement. Here’s to a big summer ahead!
Thanks, Stuart”
Australia has been hit by above average temperatures this winter and below average snowfalls. According to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (‘BOM’), Australia’s national mean temperature in July 2023 was 1.19°C above the 1961-1990 average, the ninth-highest July temperature on record since 1910. August’s national mean temperature was 2.28 °C above average, making it the second-warmest August on record since national observations began in 1910.
While nationally-averaged July total rainfall for Australia was close to average, rainfall for Victoria, where some of the ski resorts are located, was below average. August’s nationally-averaged total rainfall however was almost half the average, coming in at 49.5% below the 1961–1990 average, making this August the tenth-driest on record since 1900. New South Wales, the state where Thredbo is located, saw 60% less rain than the state average, while Victoria, home to resorts like Mt Buller or Hotham, was close to the national average with 51% less than average rainfalls.
A late August low pressure system brought some much needed snowfalls to Australian resorts around two weeks ago, but it was not enough to counterbalance the current heatwave eroding the remaining spring snow cover.
