Snowy Mountains · backcountry conditions

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

Generated Mon 17 Aug 2026, 01:30 (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 2026-08-16 (1 d ago)
Dividing Range: report 2026-08-17 (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 -3.4° at 01:20 · refroze after yesterday's thaw — expect firm/icy early

Thredbo Top Station 1957 m

10 min ago

-3.4° ▼3.7°/3h feels -10° · 20 N (22 g) km/h →0/3h · 94% RH · 0.2 mm since 9am

Perisher Valley 1738 m

10 min ago

0.6° ▼0.7°/3h feels -2° · 4 NE (9 g) km/h ▼5/3h · 100% RH · 0.2 mm since 9am

Cabramurra 1482 m

10 min ago

2.2° ▼1.3°/3h feels -7° · 41 E (50 g) km/h ▲6/3h · 97% RH · 0.0 mm since 9am

Thredbo Village 1380 m · Non-AWS

11 h ago

8.5° feels 6° · 7 S (? g) km/h · 68% 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 1880–2250 m

freezing level 1880–2250 m · 0.10 m base · derived flags: icy surface (melt-freeze), wet-loose warming (high)

⚠ models diverge: cloud 5 vs 100% (best-match vs ICON) — trust those numbers less

1890 m · loads NE · board for 2026-08-17 · 06:00-18:00 local

hour temp chill wind dir gust vis cloud precip snow frz.lvl
06:00 -4° -7° 5 E 17 1.5k 34 0.0 0.0 1920
07:00 -4° -7° 6 E 19 1.9k 23 0.0 0.0 1890
08:00 -4° 5 E 21 5.1k 25 0.0 0.0 1880
09:00 -2° 4 ENE 20 78.4k 20 0.0 0.0 1890
10:00 3 ENE 19 80.9k 13 0.0 0.0 1940
11:00 3 NE 18 80.9k 9 0.0 0.0 2030
12:00 1 NE 18 83.3k 5 0.0 0.0 2100
13:00 0 N 14 59.9k 17 0.0 0.0 2150
14:00 1 N 12 26.4k 15 0.0 0.0 2210
15:00 1 NE 14 43.6k 55 0.0 0.0 2250
16:00 3 NE 17 83.4k 52 0.0 0.0 2240
17:00 -2° 4 E 18 78.5k 45 0.0 0.0 2220
18:00 -1° -5° 4 E 19 75.3k 26 0.0 0.0 2170

▲ icy surface (melt-freeze) — watch severity

melt-freeze: 1.6 °C at 09:00 then -1.2 °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 -3.5→6.1 °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

Charlotte Pass

freezing 1880–2250 m

freezing level 1880–2250 m · 0.11 m base · derived flags: poor visibility / whiteout, icy surface (melt-freeze), wet-loose warming (high)

⚠ models diverge: cloud 4 vs 100% (best-match vs ICON) — trust those numbers less

1760 m · loads NE · board for 2026-08-17 · 06:00-18:00 local

hour temp chill wind dir gust vis cloud precip snow frz.lvl
06:00 -4° -8° 4 NNW 9 0.7k 33 0.0 0.0 1920
07:00 -4° -8° 4 N 10 0.9k 26 0.0 0.0 1890
08:00 -1° -4° 4 NNE 11 1.5k 42 0.0 0.0 1880
09:00 -2° 5 NE 16 3.8k 33 0.0 0.0 1890
10:00 -1° 6 NE 19 11.2k 20 0.0 0.0 1940
11:00 6 ENE 19 34.9k 9 0.0 0.0 2030
12:00 6 ENE 20 82.1k 4 0.0 0.0 2100
13:00 6 ENE 20 60.0k 27 0.0 0.0 2150
14:00 6 ENE 19 74.1k 32 0.0 0.0 2210
15:00 8 ENE 23 82.2k 80 0.0 0.0 2250
16:00 8 ENE 24 82.2k 22 0.0 0.0 2240
17:00 -1° 6 ENE 22 77.0k 11 0.0 0.0 2220
18:00 -1° -4° 4 NE 15 76.9k 25 0.0 0.0 2170

▲ 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.

▲ icy surface (melt-freeze) — watch severity

melt-freeze: 1.1 °C at 09:00 then -0.9 °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 -4.4→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

Dead Horse Gap / Rams Head

freezing 1910–2260 m

freezing level 1910–2260 m · 0.03 m base · derived flags: poor visibility / whiteout, icy surface (melt-freeze), wet-loose warming (high)

⚠ models diverge: cloud 5 vs 86% (best-match vs ICON) — trust those numbers less

1580 m · loads SE · board for 2026-08-17 · 06:00-18:00 local

hour temp chill wind dir gust vis cloud precip snow frz.lvl
06:00 -4° -7° 6 NNE 13 0.7k 21 0.0 0.0 1980
07:00 -3° -7° 6 NNE 14 0.8k 23 0.0 0.0 1950
08:00 -3° 7 NNE 17 1.7k 30 0.0 0.0 1910
09:00 -1° 7 NE 19 7.5k 23 0.0 0.0 1910
10:00 6 ENE 22 33.5k 16 0.0 0.0 1960
11:00 4 ENE 22 50.3k 13 0.0 0.0 2040
12:00 4 ENE 19 81.5k 5 0.0 0.0 2120
13:00 4 NE 19 67.6k 37 0.0 0.0 2180
14:00 4 NE 17 70.9k 73 0.0 0.0 2220
15:00 9 ENE 25 81.6k 76 0.0 0.0 2250
16:00 10 ENE 26 81.6k 63 0.0 0.0 2260
17:00 6 ENE 25 79.2k 23 0.0 0.0 2240
18:00 -4° 5 NNE 15 76.2k 26 0.0 0.0 2190

▲ poor visibility / whiteout — high severity

poor — visibility 720 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: 0.5 °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 -3.5→7.3 °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

Guthega access

freezing 1880–2250 m

freezing level 1880–2250 m · 0.01 m base · derived flags: poor visibility / whiteout, wet-loose warming (high)

⚠ models diverge: cloud 2 vs 100% (best-match vs ICON) — trust those numbers less

1640 m · loads NE · board for 2026-08-17 · 06:00-18:00 local

hour temp chill wind dir gust vis cloud precip snow frz.lvl
06:00 -2° -4° 2 WNW 7 0.7k 53 0.0 0.0 1920
07:00 -2° -4° 3 WNW 7 0.7k 48 0.0 0.0 1890
08:00 -3° 3 NNW 11 1.5k 92 0.0 0.0 1880
09:00 -1° 4 NE 13 1.2k 48 0.0 0.0 1890
10:00 7 NE 20 10.9k 27 0.0 0.0 1940
11:00 8 ENE 24 78.4k 10 0.0 0.0 2030
12:00 9 ENE 25 80.9k 2 0.0 0.0 2100
13:00 9 ENE 26 80.9k 7 0.0 0.0 2150
14:00 10 ENE 27 80.9k 31 0.0 0.0 2210
15:00 12 ENE 30 81.0k 26 0.0 0.0 2250
16:00 11 ENE 29 81.0k 19 0.0 0.0 2240
17:00 6 ENE 24 78.5k 23 0.0 0.0 2220
18:00 -2° 3 NE 13 78.4k 17 0.0 0.0 2170

▲ poor visibility / whiteout — high severity

poor — visibility 720 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 -1.7→7.3 °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

Main Range (Kosciuszko)

freezing 1910–2260 m

freezing level 1910–2260 m · 0.01 m base · derived flags: icy surface (melt-freeze), wet-loose warming (watch)

⚠ models diverge: cloud 5 vs 86% (best-match vs ICON) — trust those numbers less

2228 m · loads E · board for 2026-08-17 · 06:00-18:00 local

hour temp chill wind dir gust vis cloud precip snow frz.lvl
06:00 -6° -10° 6 E 21 1.0k 27 0.0 0.0 1980
07:00 -6° -10° 6 E 23 1.3k 15 0.0 0.0 1950
08:00 -2° -6° 5 E 23 5.3k 18 0.0 0.0 1910
09:00 -3° 3 ENE 21 79.9k 17 0.0 0.0 1910
10:00 -2° 3 NNE 18 82.5k 7 0.0 0.0 1960
11:00 3 N 18 82.4k 8 0.0 0.0 2040
12:00 4 NNW 18 82.5k 5 0.0 0.0 2120
13:00 5 NW 18 80.7k 31 0.0 0.0 2180
14:00 5 NW 18 66.2k 38 0.0 0.0 2220
15:00 4 NNW 17 82.5k 44 0.0 0.0 2250
16:00 4 N 18 82.5k 62 0.0 0.0 2260
17:00 -2° 2 NE 19 77.4k 39 0.0 0.0 2240
18:00 -2° -6° 3 ENE 19 77.4k 45 0.0 0.0 2190

▲ icy surface (melt-freeze) — watch severity

melt-freeze: 0.5 °C at 09:00 then -2.5 °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 -6.1→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

Perisher access

freezing 1880–2250 m

freezing level 1880–2250 m · 0.01 m base · derived flags: poor visibility / whiteout, wet-loose warming (high)

⚠ models diverge: cloud 2 vs 100% (best-match vs ICON) — trust those numbers less

1720 m · loads E · board for 2026-08-17 · 06:00-18:00 local

hour temp chill wind dir gust vis cloud precip snow frz.lvl
06:00 -2° -4° 2 WNW 7 0.7k 53 0.0 0.0 1920
07:00 -2° -4° 3 WNW 7 0.7k 48 0.0 0.0 1890
08:00 -3° 3 NNW 11 1.5k 92 0.0 0.0 1880
09:00 -1° 4 NE 13 1.2k 48 0.0 0.0 1890
10:00 7 NE 20 10.9k 27 0.0 0.0 1940
11:00 8 ENE 24 78.4k 10 0.0 0.0 2030
12:00 9 ENE 25 80.9k 2 0.0 0.0 2100
13:00 9 ENE 26 80.9k 7 0.0 0.0 2150
14:00 10 ENE 27 80.9k 31 0.0 0.0 2210
15:00 12 ENE 30 81.0k 26 0.0 0.0 2250
16:00 11 ENE 29 81.0k 19 0.0 0.0 2240
17:00 6 ENE 24 78.5k 23 0.0 0.0 2220
18:00 -2° 3 NE 13 78.4k 17 0.0 0.0 2170

▲ poor visibility / whiteout — high severity

poor — visibility 720 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 -1.7→7.3 °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

Watsons Crags

freezing 1870–2220 m

freezing level 1870–2220 m · 0.01 m base · derived flags: icy surface (melt-freeze), wet-loose warming (high)

⚠ models diverge: cloud 5 vs 90% (best-match vs ICON) — trust those numbers less

2100 m · loads E · board for 2026-08-17 · 06:00-18:00 local

hour temp chill wind dir gust vis cloud precip snow frz.lvl
06:00 -4° -8° 6 E 21 1.0k 27 0.0 0.0 1930
07:00 -4° -8° 6 E 23 1.3k 15 0.0 0.0 1890
08:00 -1° -4° 5 E 23 5.3k 18 0.0 0.0 1870
09:00 -1° 3 ENE 21 79.9k 17 0.0 0.0 2070
10:00 3 NNE 18 82.5k 7 0.0 0.0 1930
11:00 3 N 18 82.4k 8 0.0 0.0 1990
12:00 4 NNW 18 82.5k 5 0.0 0.0 2060
13:00 5 NW 18 80.7k 31 0.0 0.0 2120
14:00 5 NW 18 66.2k 38 0.0 0.0 2190
15:00 4 NNW 17 82.5k 44 0.0 0.0 2220
16:00 4 N 18 82.5k 62 0.0 0.0 2200
17:00 2 NE 19 77.4k 39 0.0 0.0 2190
18:00 -1° -4° 3 ENE 19 77.4k 45 0.0 0.0 2170

▲ icy surface (melt-freeze) — watch severity

melt-freeze: 2.1 °C at 09:00 then -0.9 °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 -4.5→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

Western Faces

freezing 1910–2260 m

freezing level 1910–2260 m · 0.01 m base · derived flags: icy surface (melt-freeze), wet-loose warming (high)

⚠ models diverge: cloud 5 vs 86% (best-match vs ICON) — trust those numbers less

2050 m · loads E · board for 2026-08-17 · 06:00-18:00 local

hour temp chill wind dir gust vis cloud precip snow frz.lvl
06:00 -4° -8° 6 E 21 1.0k 27 0.0 0.0 1980
07:00 -4° -8° 6 E 23 1.3k 15 0.0 0.0 1950
08:00 -4° 5 E 23 5.3k 18 0.0 0.0 1910
09:00 -1° 3 ENE 21 79.9k 17 0.0 0.0 1910
10:00 3 NNE 18 82.5k 7 0.0 0.0 1960
11:00 3 N 18 82.4k 8 0.0 0.0 2040
12:00 4 NNW 18 82.5k 5 0.0 0.0 2120
13:00 5 NW 18 80.7k 31 0.0 0.0 2180
14:00 5 NW 18 66.2k 38 0.0 0.0 2220
15:00 4 NNW 17 82.5k 44 0.0 0.0 2250
16:00 4 N 18 82.5k 62 0.0 0.0 2260
17:00 2 NE 19 77.4k 39 0.0 0.0 2240
18:00 -1° -4° 3 ENE 19 77.4k 45 0.0 0.0 2190

▲ icy surface (melt-freeze) — watch severity

melt-freeze: 2.4 °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 -4.2→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

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.