Snowy Mountains · backcountry conditions

A data board, not a verdict. Every value carries its source — you make the call.

Generated Tue 18 Aug 2026, 17:00 (local)

Official avalanche hazard — human-required

This dashboard never computes or restates an avalanche danger rating. Read the Mountain Safety Collective report before entering backcountry terrain.

Main Range report 2026-08-18 (today)
Dividing Range: report 2026-08-18 (today)

MSC report →

Measured now — alpine AWS

OBS

BOM station observations, never blended with the forecast. Arrows: change vs the same station ~3 h ago (measured, no model). No sensor sits on the Main Range itself. Station names link to BOM's own obs pages.

Overnight at Thredbo Top Station: min -3.8° at 00:50 · refroze after yesterday's thaw — expect firm/icy early

Thredbo Top Station 1957 m

11 min ago

2.2° ▼0.7°/3h feels -2° · 13 N (17 g) km/h →0/3h · 87% RH · 0.0 mm since 9am

Perisher Valley 1738 m

11 min ago

4.6° ▼0.2°/3h feels 2° · 4 WNW (9 g) km/h ▼5/3h · 76% RH · 0.0 mm since 9am

Cabramurra 1482 m

11 min ago

7.6° ▲0.2°/3h feels 6° · 4 NNW (11 g) km/h ▼9/3h · 80% RH · 0.0 mm since 9am

Thredbo Village 1380 m · Non-AWS

26 h ago

7.3° feels 5° · 4 S (? g) km/h · 70% RH · 0.0 mm since 9am

Base depth — Spencers Creek snow course (1830 m)

Canonical AU base-depth record (manual, ~weekly). No machine-readable value — open the chart. Measured below the ridge; there is no depth sensor on the Main Range itself.

chart →

Live wind map

animated · wind

Map by Windy.com · drag/zoom to explore; the marker sits on the Main Range.

Blue Lake

freezing 2090–2300 m

freezing level 2090–2300 m · 0.07 m base · derived flags: icy surface (melt-freeze), wet-loose warming (high)

✓ models agree (best-match + ICON)

1890 m · loads NE · board for 2026-08-18 · 06:00-18:00 local

hour temp chill wind dir gust vis cloud precip snow frz.lvl
06:00 -3° -6° 5 E 19 14.8k 96 0.0 0.0 2190
07:00 -3° -6° 5 E 20 1.8k 99 0.0 0.0 2210
08:00 -3° 5 E 22 1.2k 99 0.0 0.0 2190
09:00 -1° 3 ENE 22 75.1k 91 0.0 0.0 2160
10:00 3 N 20 80.6k 99 0.0 0.0 2090
11:00 4 NNW 19 34.5k 95 0.0 0.0 2150
12:00 5 NNW 21 10.4k 92 0.0 0.0 2210
13:00 7 NW 23 6.9k 100 0.0 0.0 2280
14:00 7 WNW 23 7.2k 100 0.0 0.0 2300
15:00 5 WNW 20 7.9k 99 0.1 0.0 2300
16:00 4 WNW 14 16.9k 98 0.1 0.0 2280
17:00 -1° 4 W 11 15.5k 93 0.0 0.0 2260
18:00 -1° -3° 0 E 10 18.0k 59 0.0 0.0 2230

▲ icy surface (melt-freeze) — watch severity

melt-freeze: 2.1 °C at 09:00 then -0.6 °C at 18:00 — expect bulletproof/rime crust. Crampons + ice axe; firm slips are a top AU injury cause.

▲ wet-loose warming — high severity

warming -2.8→5.8 °C through the day — wet-loose / point-release on sun-warmed N/NW/W aspects. Tour early, be off steep solar slopes by early afternoon.

derived weather signals, NOT an official avalanche forecast

Source: open-meteo/best-match · fetched 0 min ago · forecast (FCST), not measured. Check it: raw forecast · raw ICON · Windy here

Charlotte Pass

freezing 2090–2300 m

freezing level 2090–2300 m · 0.09 m base · derived flags: poor visibility / whiteout, wet-loose warming (high)

✓ models agree (best-match + ICON)

1760 m · loads NE · board for 2026-08-18 · 06:00-18:00 local

hour temp chill wind dir gust vis cloud precip snow frz.lvl
06:00 -2° -5° 5 NNW 19 76.8k 91 0.0 0.0 2190
07:00 -2° -5° 5 NNW 19 7.1k 99 0.0 0.0 2210
08:00 -3° 5 N 23 0.6k 100 0.0 0.0 2190
09:00 -1° 5 N 23 3.5k 95 0.0 0.0 2160
10:00 6 NNE 24 79.6k 99 0.0 0.0 2090
11:00 6 N 23 82.0k 96 0.0 0.0 2150
12:00 7 N 24 50.5k 92 0.0 0.0 2210
13:00 8 N 26 17.7k 100 0.0 0.0 2280
14:00 7 NNW 25 13.9k 99 0.0 0.0 2300
15:00 6 NNW 23 16.5k 100 0.0 0.0 2300
16:00 4 NNW 18 19.7k 100 0.0 0.0 2280
17:00 3 NW 13 19.8k 100 0.0 0.0 2260
18:00 -3° 4 NW 11 17.9k 91 0.0 0.0 2230

▲ poor visibility / whiteout — high severity

poor — visibility 600 m (<1 km) — navigation + terrain assessment hard; whiteout is a leading AU rescue cause. Carry a compass/GPS bearing plan and known bail lines.

▲ wet-loose warming — high severity

warming -1.8→6.3 °C through the day — wet-loose / point-release on sun-warmed N/NW/W aspects. Tour early, be off steep solar slopes by early afternoon.

derived weather signals, NOT an official avalanche forecast

Source: open-meteo/best-match · fetched 0 min ago · forecast (FCST), not measured. Check it: raw forecast · raw ICON · Windy here

Dead Horse Gap / Rams Head

freezing 2190–2280 m

freezing level 2190–2280 m · 0.02 m base · derived flags: wet-loose warming (high)

✓ models agree (best-match + ICON)

1580 m · loads SE · board for 2026-08-18 · 06:00-18:00 local

hour temp chill wind dir gust vis cloud precip snow frz.lvl
06:00 -3° 5 N 15 79.1k 90 0.0 0.0 2220
07:00 -3° 5 N 15 76.1k 99 0.0 0.0 2230
08:00 -1° 6 NNE 19 2.5k 100 0.0 0.0 2230
09:00 6 N 22 5.8k 97 0.0 0.0 2230
10:00 5 N 23 78.9k 100 0.0 0.0 2190
11:00 7 NNW 24 83.6k 96 0.0 0.0 2200
12:00 8 NNW 26 76.6k 95 0.0 0.0 2230
13:00 10 NNW 28 56.5k 99 0.0 0.0 2260
14:00 10 NW 27 59.4k 99 0.0 0.0 2270
15:00 9 NW 27 80.3k 100 0.0 0.0 2280
16:00 6 NW 23 77.0k 98 0.0 0.0 2280
17:00 4 NW 15 33.4k 100 0.0 0.0 2240
18:00 -2° 4 NNW 12 17.7k 85 0.0 0.0 2220

▲ wet-loose warming — high severity

warming 0.4→7.7 °C through the day — wet-loose / point-release on sun-warmed N/NW/W aspects. Tour early, be off steep solar slopes by early afternoon.

derived weather signals, NOT an official avalanche forecast

Source: open-meteo/best-match · fetched 0 min ago · forecast (FCST), not measured. Check it: raw forecast · raw ICON · Windy here

Guthega access

freezing 2090–2300 m

freezing level 2090–2300 m · 0.01 m base · derived flags: poor visibility / whiteout, wet-loose warming (high)

✓ models agree (best-match + ICON)

1640 m · loads NE · board for 2026-08-18 · 06:00-18:00 local

hour temp chill wind dir gust vis cloud precip snow frz.lvl
06:00 -2° -5° 4 NW 19 5.1k 95 0.0 0.0 2190
07:00 -2° -5° 5 NNW 19 0.9k 99 0.0 0.0 2210
08:00 -2° 6 N 23 0.2k 100 0.0 0.0 2190
09:00 6 NNE 24 67.5k 98 0.0 0.0 2160
10:00 8 NNE 26 8.5k 99 0.0 0.0 2090
11:00 9 NNE 27 80.6k 96 0.0 0.0 2150
12:00 10 NNE 30 23.7k 94 0.0 0.0 2210
13:00 12 N 31 11.6k 100 0.0 0.0 2280
14:00 10 N 30 12.6k 100 0.0 0.0 2300
15:00 8 N 27 19.5k 100 0.0 0.0 2300
16:00 6 N 25 19.1k 100 0.0 0.0 2280
17:00 3 NW 19 20.9k 98 0.0 0.0 2260
18:00 -2° 4 NW 11 21.4k 91 0.0 0.0 2230

▲ poor visibility / whiteout — high severity

poor — visibility 240 m (<1 km) — navigation + terrain assessment hard; whiteout is a leading AU rescue cause. Carry a compass/GPS bearing plan and known bail lines.

▲ wet-loose warming — high severity

warming -2→8.2 °C through the day — wet-loose / point-release on sun-warmed N/NW/W aspects. Tour early, be off steep solar slopes by early afternoon.

derived weather signals, NOT an official avalanche forecast

Source: open-meteo/best-match · fetched 0 min ago · forecast (FCST), not measured. Check it: raw forecast · raw ICON · Windy here

Main Range (Kosciuszko)

freezing 2190–2280 m

freezing level 2190–2280 m · 0.01 m base · derived flags: icy surface (melt-freeze), wet-loose warming (watch)

✓ models agree (best-match + ICON)

2228 m · loads E · board for 2026-08-18 · 06:00-18:00 local

hour temp chill wind dir gust vis cloud precip snow frz.lvl
06:00 -2° -6° 4 ENE 20 79.8k 93 0.0 0.0 2220
07:00 -2° -6° 4 ENE 21 77.2k 98 0.0 0.0 2230
08:00 -1° -4° 5 ENE 24 2.8k 99 0.0 0.0 2230
09:00 -2° 4 NNE 25 41.8k 91 0.0 0.0 2230
10:00 -1° 6 NNW 25 79.7k 98 0.0 0.0 2190
11:00 -1° 8 NW 27 82.3k 94 0.0 0.0 2200
12:00 10 NW 28 67.5k 90 0.0 0.0 2230
13:00 11 NW 30 20.3k 94 0.0 0.0 2260
14:00 -1° 11 WNW 30 19.2k 99 0.0 0.0 2270
15:00 -1° 8 WNW 28 12.3k 98 0.0 0.0 2280
16:00 -2° 6 NW 20 16.3k 90 0.0 0.0 2280
17:00 -3° 4 NW 17 12.5k 87 0.0 0.0 2240
18:00 -2° -5° 2 ENE 17 17.3k 45 0.0 0.0 2220

▲ icy surface (melt-freeze) — watch severity

melt-freeze: 1.1 °C at 09:00 then -2.4 °C at 18:00 — expect bulletproof/rime crust. Crampons + ice axe; firm slips are a top AU injury cause.

▲ wet-loose warming — watch severity

warming -2.3→4 °C through the day — wet-loose / point-release on sun-warmed N/NW/W aspects. Tour early, be off steep solar slopes by early afternoon.

derived weather signals, NOT an official avalanche forecast

Source: open-meteo/best-match · fetched 0 min ago · forecast (FCST), not measured. Check it: raw forecast · raw ICON · Windy here

Perisher access

freezing 2090–2300 m

freezing level 2090–2300 m · 0.01 m base · derived flags: poor visibility / whiteout, wet-loose warming (high)

✓ models agree (best-match + ICON)

1720 m · loads E · board for 2026-08-18 · 06:00-18:00 local

hour temp chill wind dir gust vis cloud precip snow frz.lvl
06:00 -2° -5° 4 NW 19 5.1k 95 0.0 0.0 2190
07:00 -2° -5° 5 NNW 19 0.9k 99 0.0 0.0 2210
08:00 -2° 6 N 23 0.2k 100 0.0 0.0 2190
09:00 6 NNE 24 67.5k 98 0.0 0.0 2160
10:00 8 NNE 26 8.5k 99 0.0 0.0 2090
11:00 9 NNE 27 80.6k 96 0.0 0.0 2150
12:00 10 NNE 30 23.7k 94 0.0 0.0 2210
13:00 12 N 31 11.6k 100 0.0 0.0 2280
14:00 10 N 30 12.6k 100 0.0 0.0 2300
15:00 8 N 27 19.5k 100 0.0 0.0 2300
16:00 6 N 25 19.1k 100 0.0 0.0 2280
17:00 3 NW 19 20.9k 98 0.0 0.0 2260
18:00 -2° 4 NW 11 21.4k 91 0.0 0.0 2230

▲ poor visibility / whiteout — high severity

poor — visibility 240 m (<1 km) — navigation + terrain assessment hard; whiteout is a leading AU rescue cause. Carry a compass/GPS bearing plan and known bail lines.

▲ wet-loose warming — high severity

warming -2→8.2 °C through the day — wet-loose / point-release on sun-warmed N/NW/W aspects. Tour early, be off steep solar slopes by early afternoon.

derived weather signals, NOT an official avalanche forecast

Source: open-meteo/best-match · fetched 0 min ago · forecast (FCST), not measured. Check it: raw forecast · raw ICON · Windy here

Watsons Crags

freezing 2180–2270 m

freezing level 2180–2270 m · 0.01 m base · derived flags: icy surface (melt-freeze), wet-loose warming (high)

✓ models agree (best-match + ICON)

2100 m · loads E · board for 2026-08-18 · 06:00-18:00 local

hour temp chill wind dir gust vis cloud precip snow frz.lvl
06:00 -1° -4° 4 ENE 20 79.8k 93 0.0 0.0 2200
07:00 -4° 4 ENE 21 77.2k 98 0.0 0.0 2220
08:00 -2° 5 ENE 24 2.8k 99 0.0 0.0 2230
09:00 4 NNE 25 41.8k 91 0.0 0.0 2240
10:00 6 NNW 25 79.7k 98 0.0 0.0 2220
11:00 8 NW 27 82.3k 94 0.0 0.0 2180
12:00 10 NW 28 67.5k 90 0.0 0.0 2190
13:00 11 NW 30 20.3k 94 0.0 0.0 2220
14:00 11 WNW 30 19.2k 99 0.0 0.0 2240
15:00 8 WNW 28 12.3k 98 0.0 0.0 2270
16:00 6 NW 20 16.3k 90 0.0 0.0 2270
17:00 -1° 4 NW 17 12.5k 87 0.0 0.0 2230
18:00 -1° -3° 2 ENE 17 17.3k 45 0.0 0.0 2210

▲ icy surface (melt-freeze) — watch severity

melt-freeze: 0.9 °C at 08:00 then -0.8 °C at 18:00 — expect bulletproof/rime crust. Crampons + ice axe; firm slips are a top AU injury cause.

▲ wet-loose warming — high severity

warming -0.7→5.6 °C through the day — wet-loose / point-release on sun-warmed N/NW/W aspects. Tour early, be off steep solar slopes by early afternoon.

derived weather signals, NOT an official avalanche forecast

Source: open-meteo/best-match · fetched 0 min ago · forecast (FCST), not measured. Check it: raw forecast · raw ICON · Windy here

Western Faces

freezing 2190–2280 m

freezing level 2190–2280 m · 0.01 m base · derived flags: icy surface (melt-freeze), wet-loose warming (high)

✓ models agree (best-match + ICON)

2050 m · loads E · board for 2026-08-18 · 06:00-18:00 local

hour temp chill wind dir gust vis cloud precip snow frz.lvl
06:00 -4° 4 ENE 20 79.8k 93 0.0 0.0 2220
07:00 -4° 4 ENE 21 77.2k 98 0.0 0.0 2230
08:00 -2° 5 ENE 24 2.8k 99 0.0 0.0 2230
09:00 4 NNE 25 41.8k 91 0.0 0.0 2230
10:00 6 NNW 25 79.7k 98 0.0 0.0 2190
11:00 8 NW 27 82.3k 94 0.0 0.0 2200
12:00 10 NW 28 67.5k 90 0.0 0.0 2230
13:00 11 NW 30 20.3k 94 0.0 0.0 2260
14:00 11 WNW 30 19.2k 99 0.0 0.0 2270
15:00 8 WNW 28 12.3k 98 0.0 0.0 2280
16:00 6 NW 20 16.3k 90 0.0 0.0 2280
17:00 -1° 4 NW 17 12.5k 87 0.0 0.0 2240
18:00 -3° 2 ENE 17 17.3k 45 0.0 0.0 2220

▲ icy surface (melt-freeze) — watch severity

melt-freeze: 1.2 °C at 08:00 then -0.5 °C at 18:00 — expect bulletproof/rime crust. Crampons + ice axe; firm slips are a top AU injury cause.

▲ wet-loose warming — high severity

warming -0.4→5.9 °C through the day — wet-loose / point-release on sun-warmed N/NW/W aspects. Tour early, be off steep solar slopes by early afternoon.

derived weather signals, NOT an official avalanche forecast

Source: open-meteo/best-match · fetched 0 min ago · forecast (FCST), not measured. Check it: raw forecast · raw ICON · Windy here

Cams

Perisher Valley

Community webcam (valley) · Webcam provided by Windy.com

Trailhead access

Road and park status change fast in the alpine — open these before you drive. Chain-fit and snow closures apply to Kosciuszko Rd and the Alpine Way in winter.

Road status: Transport for NSW Live Traffic (CC BY 4.0) · fetched 0 min ago

Daily reads — the humans who watch this mountain

human-authored sources — names, links and post dates only, never their content

Before you go

The morning read ends with the safety net, not just the weather. Chains must be carried in Kosciuszko NP in winter (4WD/AWD exempt); Kosciuszko Rd is closed Perisher→Charlotte Pass (oversnow only). The full pre-trip checklist lives in the repo (docs/FIELD-NOTES.md).

Source health

1 source(s) stale or unavailable

When each input last updated and whether this build reached it. link = human-required source we point to, never parse.