"March Madness" As Snowfall Hits Australia In Early Autumn

Winter made an early-season entrance in Australia overnight, with a polar blast from the Antarctic dumping up to 15cm of fresh snow on the slopes as temperatures tumbled to around -2.C.

The Australian season typically starts over a long weekend in early June, more than two months away, to celebrate King Charles III's birthday, although it has been known to start in late May if conditions are good.

Snow started falling on Thursday evening at most resorts.

“Temps dropped, flakes fell and Hotham got its first taste of winter. It’s only a teaser (for now), but we couldn’t be more excited!” said Alex Pankiw, Brand + Experience Manager, Hotham. “Before you know it, snow guns will be firing and we’ll be counting down to winter.”

The Australian snowfall follows the first autumn/fall snowfalls reported in South America's Andes earlier this week at Portillo in Chile.