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Hotham Breaks All-time Record for Coldest Day Ever

TUESDAY, 29 APRIL 2008
Submitted By: katrina principe

The latest super cold snap has put Mt. Hotham in the record books, recording the coldest day on record for April in Victoria yesterday. The maximum temperature at the alpine resort was just -3.3C, recorded at 2pm. The previous record for the state was -2C set in 1985.

The new record has also seen more than 25cm of snowfall at Victoria’s highest resort, with blizzard weather conditions normally associated with August.

Most of the snowfall dumped down from about 5am to 1pm last Sunday. With an additional 3cm overnight and more snow yesterday, Hotham has been inundated with snow, with cars buried and chairlifts covered.

It has been so cold that snow has reached down to altitudes of 1000m. The snow showers are expected to continue today before clearing up by Wednesday.

Many tourists and locals alike have taken the opportunity to check out the April whiteout, and many are building snowmen, having snowball fights and tobogganing. Several cars got bogged on the Great Alpine Road last Sunday but the road has now been cleared.

This is the fourth pre-season bout of snowfall since February and is by far the largest. Collectively, Hotham has now received well over third of a meter of pre-season snowfall. The latest snowfall combined with record cold temperatures will freeze the ground, the perfect ski field preparation for the season ahead.

Pete Taylor’s website www.snowatch.com.au predicts this season to be the best since 2004 (when Hotham’s official snow depth peaked at 2.39m) and is expecting a maximum snow base of around 2m this year.

Adding to the promising signs from Mother Nature is the fact that Hotham’s Heavenly Valley snowmaking project is almost complete. “The extended snowmaking network is looking extremely good as we are on schedule with this project,” explained Belinda Trembath, General Manager of Mount Hotham Skiing Company. “We are looking forward to showing resort guests our new snowmaking capacities.”

The ski season officially opens on June 7, just 39 days away.

Source:
www.boardtheworld.com

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