If you tuned out at school during geography and don?t know your Timbuktu from your Toukley, there are some basic things you need to know about snow chasing. Find out how you can make the most of your season pass at Thredbo.
The weather we receive on Australia?s East Coast comes from a western direction. There are two weather systems, Low pressure systems (marked by an L on a weather map) and a High pressure system (marked by a H on a weather map). A cold front is a low pressure system and it brings cold weather to an area and a warm front is a high pressure system that brings warm or hot weather to an area. In terms of skiing, we welcome the low pressure system and cold fronts because these systems potentially bring manna from heaven to snow resorts in the form of snow.
Can?t read a weather map?
Look for the letter L inside a moving ghost like circle to denote a low pressure system (possible chance of snow in our winter), Low pressure systems rotate clockwise, High pressure systems rotate counter-clockwise. Where the two circles hit causes friction (or storms).
Current issues for Thredbo snow lovers
Back in June, if you looked at a weather map of Australia on the news, the high pressure systems were pushing the low pressure systems very low down. The low pressure systems were bypassing our locations of snow resorts and sending the low pressure system over to New Zealand before we got these snow dumps over the past couple of weeks of July. Our high pressure systems were too high, but no one weather condition lasts forever and totally different weather comes along just when we are least suspecting. So watch those weather maps.
Is there a snow app for that?
If you love working really hard (ahem, I mean looking at apps while the boss is in the loo) you can download the mountain watch snow report app on your phone and follow the Bureau of Meteorology?s Grasshopper, an extremely popular writer of snow conditions. The grasshopper has lots of cool explanatory charts to take your geography lessons further than your geography teacher could ever imagine. Just think what would happen if you sat your HSC all over again? You might have just become that doctor like your dad always thought you would. Other apps of interest are SnowAustralia and MyThredbo.
Do I need to know about El Ni?o?
Not in detail, aside from knowing that it refers to the state of the Pacific Ocean's atmospheric conditions, which relate to the weather occurring over our landmass, specifically whether it snows or not over our Kosciuszko National park. MountainWatch has Thredbo Snow Reports?and?goes into plenty of interesting colloquial weather terminology referring to El Ni?o as either a ?classic? or ?'wrong un'. Wrong 'un conditions spin in the opposite direction to a classic, and thus brings cold fronts and snow storms to our Australian Alps. We want the wrong ?un.
How much warning do I need to jump in the car?
You've got your phone apps, you're all over the forecasted?weather for Thredbo and you've got your bag packed. Keep in mind there are 3 day and 7 day forecasts on all these media outlets, so it's safe to keep the Lantern Thredbo Apartments phone number on speed dial (02) 6457 6600?to take advantage of last minute Thredbo deals and keep your flower pots watered just in case.
The Lantern Thredbo Apartments are a large range of self-contained apartments located all around Thredbo village. All have washing facilities ready to wash your work clothes for Monday. Some have car spaces and those that don?t are located near the free shuttle bus service that goes all over Thredbo village during the snow season.
