Resorts and businesses are preparing for the launch of this year’s snow season over the long weekend. Photo: Nicholas Ward.
Powder heads and Snowy Mountains residents alike are preparing for the start of this year’s snow season over the weekend.
Jindabyne Chamber of Commerce president Olivier Kapetanakos said businesses in the region were feeling “optimistic” about the upcoming season.
He said snowmaking machines would mean there was “half decent snow coverage”, with mountain businesses ready to welcome visitors to town during the long weekend.
But fuel costs and inflation remain major concerns, along with their impacts on visitor bookings.
He said the economic environment was providing the “greatest uncertainty” as businesses planned for winter.
“We know that people who have booked their holidays 12 months in advance are still going to come down because they’ve paid for their trips,” he said.
“They’ve paid for the accommodation, their ski lifts … What we are a little more concerned with is the day-trippers who book last-minute – are they still going to come down?”
Adding a complication was the forecast, which was for a warmer winter.
An early taste of winter arrived for alpine towns in early May, with areas down to about 700 to 800 metres in the ACT and the Snowies seeing some snowfall.
But Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Jonathan How said their models predicted a warmer and drier winter.
While the bureau hasn’t declared an El Nino yet, he said it’s a “likely” development that should bring reduced rainfall.
The May snowfall gave an early taste of winter weather. Photo: Adaminaby Fuel Stop – Snowy Mountains Facebook.
Mr How also forecasted the Snowies would see “a base” of around 20 centimetres of snow over the long weekend, with snow possible at sites above 1200 to 1300 metres from Wednesday evening (3 June) as a cold front passes through southern NSW.
But he warned the snowfall wouldn’t last.
“We are expecting a mostly fine and sunny weekend for the long weekend, that’s good news, and then we do see some showers possibly developing again across NSW from mid-next week,” Mr How said.
It’s impossible to tell how the rest of the season will fare.
“Last year, it started off very poorly,” he said.
“But then we did have some very big snowfalls toward the latter part of winter and early spring, and we did end the season very well … That’s the Australian snow season in a nutshell.
“A slow start doesn’t always mean that it’s going to be a poor season overall.”
He recommended checking the short-term forecasts for the week of your visit.
Forecast website SnowWatch predicts that Selwyn is set for around 10 centimetres of snow over the coming 15 days.
Meanwhile, Perisher, Thredbo and Charlotte Pass could receive up to 34 centimetres.
Mr Kapetanakos encouraged people to explore the rest of the Snowy Mountains.
“We really have premier outdoor activities … We’ve also got distilleries, great breweries,” he said.
“There’s so many great activities to be had in a relatively small space.”
But as people hit the road during their holidays, they’re also being reminded of the need to be careful on the roads.
Newly released statistics from AAMI have revealed that more than 80 per cent of collisions involve kangaroos.
Last year, there were 7526 claims made to the insurance company for wildlife collisions in NSW, with the worst month being June.
In southern NSW, Sutton, Cooma, Goulburn, Yass, Jindabyne and Bungendore made AAMI’s list of the top 10 collision locations in the state.
Original Article published by Claire Sams on About Regional.
