Snowy Mountains · backcountry conditions

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

Generated Thu 20 Aug 2026, 01:00 (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 2026-08-19 (1 d ago)
Dividing Range: report 2026-08-20 (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 2.5° at 18:20 · thawed yesterday, no refreeze — wet pack overnight

Thredbo Top Station 1957 m

11 min ago

3.3° ▲0.3°/3h feels -13° · 76 NNW (95 g) km/h ▲7/3h · 100% RH · 14.4 mm since 9am

Perisher Valley 1738 m

11 min ago

4.3° ▼0.4°/3h feels 1° · 11 N (32 g) km/h →0/3h · 100% RH · 6.0 mm since 9am

Cabramurra 1482 m

11 min ago

6.2° ▼0.1°/3h feels -2° · 37 NNW (52 g) km/h ▲7/3h · 100% RH · 1.4 mm since 9am

Thredbo Village 1380 m · Non-AWS

10 h ago

9.4° feels 7° · 6 SW (? g) km/h · 62% 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 2290–2540 m

freezing level 2290–2540 m · 0.00 m base · derived flags: poor visibility / whiteout, rain on snow (high)

⚠ models diverge: wind 6.8 vs 17.4 km/h (best-match vs ICON) — trust those numbers less

1890 m · loads NE · board for 2026-08-20 · 06:00-18:00 local

hour temp chill wind dir gust vis cloud precip snow frz.lvl
06:00 -2° 14 NW 55 0.9k 100 0.6 0.0 2540
07:00 -1° 10 NW 47 0.8k 100 0.8 0.0 2470
08:00 9 NW 40 0.5k 100 0.9 0.0 2490
09:00 8 NW 35 0.4k 100 1.1 0.0 2470
10:00 8 NW 34 0.7k 100 0.7 0.0 2500
11:00 9 WNW 40 0.4k 100 0.7 0.0 2500
12:00 7 WNW 42 0.4k 100 0.7 0.0 2470
13:00 8 NW 40 0.4k 100 1.1 0.0 2400
14:00 10 WNW 42 0.7k 100 2.0 0.0 2320
15:00 12 NW 41 0.5k 100 3.9 0.0 2290
16:00 -1° 13 NW 45 0.7k 100 1.1 0.0 2360
17:00 -2° 16 WNW 49 0.7k 100 0.3 0.0 2390
18:00 -2° 16 WNW 52 0.3k 100 1.0 0.0 2400

▲ poor visibility / whiteout — high severity

poor — visibility 280 m (<1 km) — navigation + terrain assessment hard; whiteout is a leading AU rescue cause. Carry a compass/GPS bearing plan and known bail lines.

▲ rain on snow — high severity

rain-on-snow: 3.9 mm at 3 °C; freezing level 2290 m — the signature AU hazard. Rapid strength loss, wet slides, runnels; treat steep slopes with suspicion and watch for pinwheels/roller-balls.

derived weather signals, NOT an official avalanche forecast

Source: open-meteo/best-match · fetched 1 min ago · forecast (FCST), not measured. Check it: raw forecast · raw ICON · Windy here

Charlotte Pass

freezing 2290–2540 m

freezing level 2290–2540 m · 0.02 m base · derived flags: poor visibility / whiteout, rain on snow (high)

✓ models agree (best-match + ICON)

1760 m · loads NE · board for 2026-08-20 · 06:00-18:00 local

hour temp chill wind dir gust vis cloud precip snow frz.lvl
06:00 -2° 23 WNW 62 4.5k 100 0.4 0.0 2540
07:00 -2° 22 WNW 55 11.0k 100 0.5 0.0 2470
08:00 -2° 20 WNW 53 3.6k 100 0.4 0.0 2490
09:00 -1° 19 NW 51 2.3k 100 0.5 0.0 2470
10:00 -1° 18 NW 48 0.7k 100 0.3 0.0 2500
11:00 17 WNW 48 2.8k 100 0.2 0.0 2500
12:00 16 WNW 46 8.1k 100 0.3 0.0 2470
13:00 16 NW 45 5.0k 100 0.4 0.0 2400
14:00 17 WNW 45 3.3k 100 0.8 0.0 2320
15:00 -1° 15 NW 44 2.7k 100 2.0 0.0 2290
16:00 -1° 14 WNW 42 1.9k 100 1.0 0.0 2360
17:00 -1° 11 NW 37 2.7k 100 0.2 0.0 2390
18:00 -2° 10 WNW 36 0.8k 100 1.1 0.0 2400

▲ poor visibility / whiteout — high severity

poor — visibility 740 m (<1 km) — navigation + terrain assessment hard; whiteout is a leading AU rescue cause. Carry a compass/GPS bearing plan and known bail lines.

▲ rain on snow — high severity

rain-on-snow: 2 mm at 3.2 °C; freezing level 2290 m — the signature AU hazard. Rapid strength loss, wet slides, runnels; treat steep slopes with suspicion and watch for pinwheels/roller-balls.

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 2330–2550 m

freezing level 2330–2550 m · 0.00 m base · derived flags: poor visibility / whiteout, wet-loose warming (high)

✓ models agree (best-match + ICON)

1580 m · loads SE · board for 2026-08-20 · 06:00-18:00 local

hour temp chill wind dir gust vis cloud precip snow frz.lvl
06:00 -1° 22 WNW 59 4.9k 100 0.4 0.0 2550
07:00 -2° 22 NW 57 10.4k 100 0.4 0.0 2470
08:00 -1° 22 NW 56 5.7k 100 0.3 0.0 2480
09:00 20 NW 54 11.5k 100 0.3 0.0 2480
10:00 20 NW 52 1.8k 100 0.1 0.0 2470
11:00 20 NW 53 8.2k 100 0.1 0.0 2550
12:00 19 NW 53 9.3k 100 0.2 0.0 2500
13:00 19 NW 51 2.6k 100 0.3 0.0 2430
14:00 19 NW 50 3.4k 100 0.8 0.0 2380
15:00 16 NW 49 3.0k 100 1.7 0.0 2330
16:00 14 NW 42 5.5k 100 0.8 0.0 2410
17:00 11 NW 37 2.4k 100 0.3 0.0 2350
18:00 -1° 11 WNW 35 0.7k 100 1.2 0.0 2390

▲ poor visibility / whiteout — high severity

poor — visibility 700 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 3.3→6.6 °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

Guthega access

freezing 2290–2540 m

freezing level 2290–2540 m · 0.00 m base · derived flags: poor visibility / whiteout, wind loading, wet-loose warming (high)

✓ models agree (best-match + ICON)

1640 m · loads NE · board for 2026-08-20 · 06:00-18:00 local

hour temp chill wind dir gust vis cloud precip snow frz.lvl
06:00 -1° 27 WNW 74 4.5k 99 0.4 0.0 2540
07:00 -1° 24 WNW 71 3.1k 100 0.5 0.0 2470
08:00 20 WNW 62 1.5k 100 0.4 0.0 2490
09:00 17 WNW 55 1.5k 100 0.6 0.0 2470
10:00 16 WNW 49 1.1k 100 0.3 0.0 2500
11:00 18 WNW 48 0.9k 100 0.2 0.0 2500
12:00 17 WNW 51 2.0k 100 0.2 0.0 2470
13:00 17 WNW 51 5.8k 100 0.3 0.0 2400
14:00 17 WNW 51 1.5k 100 0.8 0.0 2320
15:00 18 WNW 49 1.7k 100 2.1 0.0 2290
16:00 17 WNW 53 2.9k 100 0.9 0.0 2360
17:00 14 WNW 48 1.6k 99 0.1 0.0 2390
18:00 -1° 16 WNW 49 1.0k 100 0.7 0.0 2400

▲ poor visibility / whiteout — high severity

poor — visibility 900 m (<1 km) — navigation + terrain assessment hard; whiteout is a leading AU rescue cause. Carry a compass/GPS bearing plan and known bail lines.

▲ wind loading — watch severity

WNW wind at 27.2 km/h loads NE lee aspects — fresh wind-slab/cornices; avoid NE-facing convex rolls and lee bowls.

▲ wet-loose warming — high severity

warming 4→7.1 °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 2330–2550 m

freezing level 2330–2550 m · 0.00 m base · derived flags: poor visibility / whiteout (high)

✓ models agree (best-match + ICON)

2228 m · loads E · board for 2026-08-20 · 06:00-18:00 local

hour temp chill wind dir gust vis cloud precip snow frz.lvl
06:00 -4° 14 NNW 66 1.0k 100 0.7 0.0 2550
07:00 -4° 11 NNW 59 2.7k 100 0.8 0.0 2470
08:00 -3° 10 NNW 52 0.9k 100 0.8 0.0 2480
09:00 -3° 9 NNW 50 1.3k 100 0.8 0.0 2480
10:00 -3° 10 NNW 49 1.6k 100 0.4 0.0 2470
11:00 -2° 8 NNW 47 2.0k 100 0.7 0.0 2550
12:00 -1° 8 NNW 44 1.5k 100 1.2 0.0 2500
13:00 -1° 9 NNW 51 3.4k 100 1.1 0.0 2430
14:00 -2° 10 NNW 51 1.6k 100 2.1 0.0 2380
15:00 -3° 9 NNW 51 2.4k 100 3.5 0.0 2330
16:00 -3° 11 NNW 47 1.2k 100 1.1 0.0 2410
17:00 -4° 13 NW 55 0.6k 100 0.3 0.0 2350
18:00 -4° 12 NW 56 0.3k 100 1.1 0.0 2390

▲ poor visibility / whiteout — high severity

poor — visibility 340 m (<1 km) — navigation + terrain assessment hard; whiteout is a leading AU rescue cause. Carry a compass/GPS bearing plan and known bail lines.

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 2290–2540 m

freezing level 2290–2540 m · 0.00 m base · derived flags: poor visibility / whiteout, wind loading, wet-loose warming (high)

✓ models agree (best-match + ICON)

1720 m · loads E · board for 2026-08-20 · 06:00-18:00 local

hour temp chill wind dir gust vis cloud precip snow frz.lvl
06:00 -1° 27 WNW 74 4.5k 99 0.4 0.0 2540
07:00 -1° 24 WNW 71 3.1k 100 0.5 0.0 2470
08:00 20 WNW 62 1.5k 100 0.4 0.0 2490
09:00 17 WNW 55 1.5k 100 0.6 0.0 2470
10:00 16 WNW 49 1.1k 100 0.3 0.0 2500
11:00 18 WNW 48 0.9k 100 0.2 0.0 2500
12:00 17 WNW 51 2.0k 100 0.2 0.0 2470
13:00 17 WNW 51 5.8k 100 0.3 0.0 2400
14:00 17 WNW 51 1.5k 100 0.8 0.0 2320
15:00 18 WNW 49 1.7k 100 2.1 0.0 2290
16:00 17 WNW 53 2.9k 100 0.9 0.0 2360
17:00 14 WNW 48 1.6k 99 0.1 0.0 2390
18:00 -1° 16 WNW 49 1.0k 100 0.7 0.0 2400

▲ poor visibility / whiteout — high severity

poor — visibility 900 m (<1 km) — navigation + terrain assessment hard; whiteout is a leading AU rescue cause. Carry a compass/GPS bearing plan and known bail lines.

▲ wind loading — watch severity

WNW wind at 27.2 km/h loads E lee aspects — fresh wind-slab/cornices; avoid E-facing convex rolls and lee bowls.

▲ wet-loose warming — high severity

warming 4→7.1 °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 2210–2530 m

freezing level 2210–2530 m · 0.00 m base · derived flags: poor visibility / whiteout (high)

✓ models agree (best-match + ICON)

2100 m · loads E · board for 2026-08-20 · 06:00-18:00 local

hour temp chill wind dir gust vis cloud precip snow frz.lvl
06:00 -2° 14 NNW 66 1.0k 100 0.7 0.0 2530
07:00 -2° 11 NNW 59 2.7k 100 0.8 0.0 2510
08:00 -2° 10 NNW 52 0.9k 100 0.8 0.0 2500
09:00 -1° 9 NNW 50 1.3k 100 0.8 0.0 2500
10:00 -1° 10 NNW 49 1.6k 100 0.4 0.0 2500
11:00 8 NNW 47 2.0k 100 0.7 0.0 2490
12:00 8 NNW 44 1.5k 100 1.2 0.0 2440
13:00 9 NNW 51 3.4k 100 1.1 0.0 2370
14:00 10 NNW 51 1.6k 100 2.1 0.0 2210
15:00 -1° 9 NNW 51 2.4k 100 3.5 0.0 2320
16:00 -2° 11 NNW 47 1.2k 100 1.1 0.0 2390
17:00 -2° 13 NW 55 0.6k 100 0.3 0.0 2460
18:00 -2° 12 NW 56 0.3k 100 1.1 0.0 2390

▲ poor visibility / whiteout — high severity

poor — visibility 340 m (<1 km) — navigation + terrain assessment hard; whiteout is a leading AU rescue cause. Carry a compass/GPS bearing plan and known bail lines.

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 2330–2550 m

freezing level 2330–2550 m · 0.00 m base · derived flags: poor visibility / whiteout (high)

✓ models agree (best-match + ICON)

2050 m · loads E · board for 2026-08-20 · 06:00-18:00 local

hour temp chill wind dir gust vis cloud precip snow frz.lvl
06:00 -2° 14 NNW 66 1.0k 100 0.7 0.0 2550
07:00 -2° 11 NNW 59 2.7k 100 0.8 0.0 2470
08:00 -1° 10 NNW 52 0.9k 100 0.8 0.0 2480
09:00 -1° 9 NNW 50 1.3k 100 0.8 0.0 2480
10:00 10 NNW 49 1.6k 100 0.4 0.0 2470
11:00 8 NNW 47 2.0k 100 0.7 0.0 2550
12:00 8 NNW 44 1.5k 100 1.2 0.0 2500
13:00 9 NNW 51 3.4k 100 1.1 0.0 2430
14:00 10 NNW 51 1.6k 100 2.1 0.0 2380
15:00 9 NNW 51 2.4k 100 3.5 0.0 2330
16:00 -1° 11 NNW 47 1.2k 100 1.1 0.0 2410
17:00 -2° 13 NW 55 0.6k 100 0.3 0.0 2350
18:00 -2° 12 NW 56 0.3k 100 1.1 0.0 2390

▲ poor visibility / whiteout — high severity

poor — visibility 340 m (<1 km) — navigation + terrain assessment hard; whiteout is a leading AU rescue cause. Carry a compass/GPS bearing plan and known bail lines.

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.