Yesterday, June 1, 2025, marked the start of winter, and for the Snowy Mountains region and surrounding areas, it also saw record-breaking low temperatures, signalling a frosty start to the season, as many around the region shivered. According to Weatherzone, these readings mark the coldest start to the winter, this early in the season, in decades for many locations across southeast Australia, with Cooma Airport recording a remarkable -6.3°C, the coldest temperature for this time of year in 32 years.
PHOTO: Cooma Airport reached a frosty -6.3°C around 6:30am, Sunday morning CREDIT: Lydia Lee
This cold spell, characterised by sub-zero and single-digit morning temperatures, extended across multiple regions, with significant lows observed in Victoria’s Bairnsdale at 0.9°C—its chilliest in 82 years for early June.
According to Weatherzone, the unexpected dry conditions in our region contributed to the significant drop in temperatures. The absence of moisture in the atmosphere facilitated rapid heat loss overnight, resulting in these exceptional lows.
PHOTO: Observed temperatures at 6:30am EST on Sunday June 1 across southeast Australia CREDIT: Weatherzone
The conjunction of dry air, clear skies, and light winds under a high-pressure cell collectively created an environment conducive for strong radiative cooling—leading to widespread frost.
The freezing temperatures were a stark contrast to the Bureau of Meteorology’s predictions of warmer and wetter conditions across most of the country for June to August, just four days earlier. The BOM attributing the forecast to prevailing climate patterns across Australia with a “very likely” and greater than 80 percent chance of happening.