Warming trend after snowy, frosty weekend

Australia's southeastern corner shivered through its coldest spell of the year from Friday into the weekend, but the new week promises much milder temperatures before another cool spell sets in over Easter.

Snow accumulated to a depth of around 20 centimetres in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales and the Victorian Alps on Friday, allowing locals to break the skis out of the cupboard and enjoy the first turns of 2026, as long as they were prepared to hike uphill first.

A cross-country skier in the NSW Snowy Mountains in the unseasonable snowy outbreak of late March, 2026
Image: A snow gum near Charlotte Pass, NSW, pictured during the late March cold outbreak. Source: Steve Smith.

Flakes even fell as far north as the NSW Central Tablelands, with snow blanketing the ground near Orange, especially on the 1397 metre summit of Mount Canobolas, 20 minutes southwest of town.

Subzero minimums were recorded in elevated parts of Victoria, NSW, Tasmania, and the ACT, while numerous nearby locations recorded their coldest night of the year to date, including Canberra, where the mercury dipped to 4.3°C on Sunday morning.

As you can see below on Saturday morning’s satellite and radar loop over SE Australia, the majority of moisture and the coldest air (indicated by the speckled cloud pattern) had moved off the NSW coast by early in the weekend. In its wake, drier air meant generally fine conditions with unseasonably cool nights prevailing.

Image: 12-hour combined satellite and radar loop over SE Australia on the morning of Saturday, March 28, 2026.

With the working week upon us, a warming trend is now well and truly underway. Both Sydney and Melbourne can expect maximums in the mid-to-high twenties until at least Thursday, with most other locations across the southeast also warming rapidly.

Even Hobart should reach 27°C on Tuesday, while Adelaide should hit 30°C that day.

The end of the week will continue the classic see-saw pattern often experienced in southern Australia in both autumn and spring, as another chilly airmass arrives from the south.

That means that the Easter break will be significantly cooler across the southeast, however shower activity should be minimal in most locations.

One exception is Sydney and the NSW coast, where showers could make the annual Easter egg hunt a little soggy even if the persistent heavy rain which sometimes sets in at this time of year is unlikely.