Snowy Mountains · backcountry conditions

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

Generated Thu 20 Aug 2026, 21:00 (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 2026-08-20 (today)
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 1.1° at 18:20 · thawed yesterday, no refreeze — wet pack overnight

Thredbo Top Station 1957 m

10 min ago

1.3° ▲0.6°/3h feels -12° · 59 NW (83 g) km/h ▲5/3h · 100% RH · 24.8 mm since 9am

Perisher Valley 1738 m

10 min ago

2.8° →0.0°/3h feels -2° · 20 W (43 g) km/h ▼26/3h · 100% RH · 16.2 mm since 9am

Cabramurra 1482 m

10 min ago

4.4° ▼0.5°/3h feels -2° · 26 NW (32 g) km/h ▼4/3h · 100% RH · 2.8 mm since 9am

Thredbo Village 1380 m · Non-AWS

12 h ago

6.9° feels 5° · 6 S (? g) km/h · 88% RH · 21.0 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 1880–2060 m

freezing level 1880–2060 m · 0.00 m base · derived flags: poor visibility / whiteout, icy surface (melt-freeze), wet-loose warming (high)

✓ models agree (best-match + ICON)

1890 m · loads NE · board for 2026-08-21 · 06:00-18:00 local

hour temp chill wind dir gust vis cloud precip snow frz.lvl
06:00 -4° 12 WNW 42 0.1k 100 0.1 0.0 1900
07:00 -1° -5° 12 WNW 40 0.1k 100 0.1 0.0 1880
08:00 -4° 12 W 39 0.1k 98 0.1 0.0 1890
09:00 -4° 10 WNW 37 0.4k 100 0.1 0.0 1920
10:00 -3° 10 WNW 34 0.1k 100 0.1 0.0 1920
11:00 -4° 11 WNW 34 0.2k 100 0.2 0.0 1930
12:00 -2° 10 WNW 33 0.6k 95 0.2 0.0 1950
13:00 -2° 12 WNW 35 4.0k 84 0.2 0.0 2010
14:00 -2° 12 WNW 35 16.0k 99 0.1 0.0 2040
15:00 -2° 11 WNW 34 18.8k 91 0.1 0.0 2060
16:00 -2° 10 WNW 31 25.8k 91 0.1 0.0 2060
17:00 -2° 8 WNW 28 36.0k 87 0.0 0.0 2050
18:00 -1° -4° 6 WNW 24 0.2k 99 0.0 0.0 2020

▲ poor visibility / whiteout — high severity

poor — visibility 100 m (<1 km) — navigation + terrain assessment hard; whiteout is a leading AU rescue cause. Carry a compass/GPS bearing plan and known bail lines.

▲ icy surface (melt-freeze) — watch severity

melt-freeze: 1.2 °C at 12:00 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 — watch severity

warming -0.6→2.4 °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

Charlotte Pass

freezing 1880–2060 m

freezing level 1880–2060 m · 0.01 m base · derived flags: poor visibility / whiteout, icy surface (melt-freeze), wet-loose warming (high)

✓ models agree (best-match + ICON)

1760 m · loads NE · board for 2026-08-21 · 06:00-18:00 local

hour temp chill wind dir gust vis cloud precip snow frz.lvl
06:00 -4° 11 WNW 32 0.1k 100 0.0 0.0 1900
07:00 -4° 11 WNW 32 0.1k 100 0.0 0.0 1880
08:00 -4° 12 WNW 34 0.2k 100 0.0 0.0 1890
09:00 -3° 13 WNW 34 0.5k 100 0.0 0.0 1920
10:00 -2° 12 WNW 35 0.6k 100 0.0 0.0 1920
11:00 -2° 12 WNW 35 0.8k 100 0.0 0.0 1930
12:00 -1° 11 WNW 34 3.5k 100 0.0 0.0 1950
13:00 11 WNW 34 22.7k 100 0.0 0.0 2010
14:00 10 WNW 34 20.5k 75 0.0 0.0 2040
15:00 10 WNW 31 32.6k 74 0.0 0.0 2060
16:00 -1° 10 WNW 30 50.3k 73 0.0 0.0 2060
17:00 -2° 10 WNW 28 49.7k 81 0.0 0.0 2050
18:00 -4° 11 NW 27 0.4k 100 0.0 0.0 2020

▲ poor visibility / whiteout — high severity

poor — visibility 140 m (<1 km) — navigation + terrain assessment hard; whiteout is a leading AU rescue cause. Carry a compass/GPS bearing plan and known bail lines.

▲ icy surface (melt-freeze) — watch severity

melt-freeze: 0.9 °C at 09:00 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 — watch severity

warming 0.1→4.1 °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

Dead Horse Gap / Rams Head

freezing 1900–2060 m

freezing level 1900–2060 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 2026-08-21 · 06:00-18:00 local

hour temp chill wind dir gust vis cloud precip snow frz.lvl
06:00 -4° 15 NW 42 0.1k 100 0.0 0.0 1910
07:00 -4° 15 WNW 41 0.2k 100 0.0 0.0 1900
08:00 -3° 16 WNW 41 0.2k 100 0.0 0.0 1920
09:00 -3° 17 WNW 44 0.6k 100 0.0 0.0 1920
10:00 -2° 16 WNW 44 1.1k 100 0.0 0.0 1940
11:00 -1° 15 NW 43 6.0k 100 0.0 0.0 1940
12:00 15 NW 43 2.9k 100 0.0 0.0 1980
13:00 14 NW 42 24.5k 100 0.0 0.0 2030
14:00 13 NW 41 23.1k 73 0.0 0.0 2060
15:00 13 NW 39 25.1k 81 0.0 0.0 2060
16:00 -1° 12 NW 37 38.7k 95 0.0 0.0 2060
17:00 -2° 13 NW 35 39.0k 95 0.0 0.0 2040
18:00 -3° 12 NW 33 0.7k 100 0.0 0.0 2020

▲ poor visibility / whiteout — high severity

poor — visibility 140 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 — watch severity

warming 0.7→4.7 °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 1880–2060 m

freezing level 1880–2060 m · 0.00 m base · derived flags: poor visibility / whiteout, wet-loose warming (high)

✓ models agree (best-match + ICON)

1640 m · loads NE · board for 2026-08-21 · 06:00-18:00 local

hour temp chill wind dir gust vis cloud precip snow frz.lvl
06:00 -2° 10 WSW 38 0.1k 100 0.0 0.0 1900
07:00 -2° 10 W 35 0.1k 100 0.0 0.0 1880
08:00 -2° 12 W 37 0.2k 100 0.0 0.0 1890
09:00 -1° 11 W 37 0.4k 99 0.0 0.0 1920
10:00 13 W 40 0.4k 100 0.0 0.0 1920
11:00 13 W 40 0.4k 100 0.0 0.0 1930
12:00 13 W 40 1.8k 94 0.1 0.0 1950
13:00 14 W 42 7.2k 78 0.1 0.0 2010
14:00 14 W 42 29.1k 82 0.0 0.0 2040
15:00 12 W 40 40.6k 76 0.0 0.0 2060
16:00 12 W 37 73.9k 76 0.0 0.0 2060
17:00 10 W 35 72.1k 66 0.0 0.0 2050
18:00 -3° 9 W 30 0.7k 63 0.0 0.0 2020

▲ poor visibility / whiteout — high severity

poor — visibility 140 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 1.6→5.5 °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 1900–2060 m

freezing level 1900–2060 m · 0.00 m base · derived flags: poor visibility / whiteout (high)

✓ models agree (best-match + ICON)

2228 m · loads E · board for 2026-08-21 · 06:00-18:00 local

hour temp chill wind dir gust vis cloud precip snow frz.lvl
06:00 -3° -7° 10 NW 46 0.1k 100 0.1 0.0 1910
07:00 -3° -7° 11 NW 42 0.1k 100 0.0 0.0 1900
08:00 -3° -7° 10 NW 40 0.2k 99 0.1 0.0 1920
09:00 -2° -6° 10 NW 38 0.5k 100 0.1 0.0 1920
10:00 -2° -6° 10 NW 37 0.2k 100 0.2 0.0 1940
11:00 -2° -6° 10 NW 35 0.3k 100 0.2 0.0 1940
12:00 -1° -5° 10 NW 35 0.7k 96 0.2 0.0 1980
13:00 -4° 11 NW 37 8.1k 85 0.2 0.0 2030
14:00 -4° 11 NW 37 10.9k 90 0.1 0.0 2060
15:00 -4° 10 NW 37 15.3k 92 0.1 0.0 2060
16:00 -1° -4° 9 NW 34 20.5k 92 0.1 0.0 2060
17:00 -1° -5° 9 NW 32 28.0k 94 0.0 0.0 2040
18:00 -3° -6° 8 NNW 30 0.4k 99 0.0 0.0 2020

▲ poor visibility / whiteout — high severity

poor — visibility 100 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 1880–2060 m

freezing level 1880–2060 m · 0.00 m base · derived flags: poor visibility / whiteout, wet-loose warming (high)

✓ models agree (best-match + ICON)

1720 m · loads E · board for 2026-08-21 · 06:00-18:00 local

hour temp chill wind dir gust vis cloud precip snow frz.lvl
06:00 -2° 10 WSW 38 0.1k 100 0.0 0.0 1900
07:00 -2° 10 W 35 0.1k 100 0.0 0.0 1880
08:00 -2° 12 W 37 0.2k 100 0.0 0.0 1890
09:00 -1° 11 W 37 0.4k 99 0.0 0.0 1920
10:00 13 W 40 0.4k 100 0.0 0.0 1920
11:00 13 W 40 0.4k 100 0.0 0.0 1930
12:00 13 W 40 1.8k 94 0.1 0.0 1950
13:00 14 W 42 7.2k 78 0.1 0.0 2010
14:00 14 W 42 29.1k 82 0.0 0.0 2040
15:00 12 W 40 40.6k 76 0.0 0.0 2060
16:00 12 W 37 73.9k 76 0.0 0.0 2060
17:00 10 W 35 72.1k 66 0.0 0.0 2050
18:00 -3° 9 W 30 0.7k 63 0.0 0.0 2020

▲ poor visibility / whiteout — high severity

poor — visibility 140 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 1.6→5.5 °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 1810–1990 m

freezing level 1810–1990 m · 0.00 m base · derived flags: poor visibility / whiteout, icy surface (melt-freeze) (high)

✓ models agree (best-match + ICON)

2100 m · loads E · board for 2026-08-21 · 06:00-18:00 local

hour temp chill wind dir gust vis cloud precip snow frz.lvl
06:00 -1° -5° 10 NW 46 0.1k 100 0.1 0.0 1830
07:00 -1° -5° 11 NW 42 0.1k 100 0.0 0.0 1810
08:00 -1° -5° 10 NW 40 0.2k 99 0.1 0.0 1820
09:00 -1° -4° 10 NW 38 0.5k 100 0.1 0.0 1830
10:00 -4° 10 NW 37 0.2k 100 0.2 0.0 1830
11:00 -4° 10 NW 35 0.3k 100 0.2 0.0 1830
12:00 -3° 10 NW 35 0.7k 96 0.2 0.0 1880
13:00 -2° 11 NW 37 8.1k 85 0.2 0.0 1910
14:00 -2° 11 NW 37 10.9k 90 0.1 0.0 1960
15:00 -2° 10 NW 37 15.3k 92 0.1 0.0 1990
16:00 -3° 9 NW 34 20.5k 92 0.1 0.0 1990
17:00 -3° 9 NW 32 28.0k 94 0.0 0.0 1990
18:00 -1° -5° 8 NNW 30 0.4k 99 0.0 0.0 1960

▲ poor visibility / whiteout — high severity

poor — visibility 100 m (<1 km) — navigation + terrain assessment hard; whiteout is a leading AU rescue cause. Carry a compass/GPS bearing plan and known bail lines.

▲ icy surface (melt-freeze) — watch severity

melt-freeze: 0.8 °C at 12:00 then -1.1 °C at 18:00 — expect bulletproof/rime crust. Crampons + ice axe; firm slips are a top AU injury cause.

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 1900–2060 m

freezing level 1900–2060 m · 0.00 m base · derived flags: poor visibility / whiteout, icy surface (melt-freeze) (high)

✓ models agree (best-match + ICON)

2050 m · loads E · board for 2026-08-21 · 06:00-18:00 local

hour temp chill wind dir gust vis cloud precip snow frz.lvl
06:00 -1° -4° 10 NW 46 0.1k 100 0.1 0.0 1910
07:00 -1° -5° 11 NW 42 0.1k 100 0.0 0.0 1900
08:00 -1° -4° 10 NW 40 0.2k 99 0.1 0.0 1920
09:00 -4° 10 NW 38 0.5k 100 0.1 0.0 1920
10:00 -4° 10 NW 37 0.2k 100 0.2 0.0 1940
11:00 -4° 10 NW 35 0.3k 100 0.2 0.0 1940
12:00 -3° 10 NW 35 0.7k 96 0.2 0.0 1980
13:00 -2° 11 NW 37 8.1k 85 0.2 0.0 2030
14:00 -2° 11 NW 37 10.9k 90 0.1 0.0 2060
15:00 -2° 10 NW 37 15.3k 92 0.1 0.0 2060
16:00 -2° 9 NW 34 20.5k 92 0.1 0.0 2060
17:00 -3° 9 NW 32 28.0k 94 0.0 0.0 2040
18:00 -1° -4° 8 NNW 30 0.4k 99 0.0 0.0 2020

▲ poor visibility / whiteout — high severity

poor — visibility 100 m (<1 km) — navigation + terrain assessment hard; whiteout is a leading AU rescue cause. Carry a compass/GPS bearing plan and known bail lines.

▲ icy surface (melt-freeze) — watch severity

melt-freeze: 1.1 °C at 12:00 then -0.8 °C at 18:00 — expect bulletproof/rime crust. Crampons + ice axe; firm slips are a top AU injury cause.

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.