Victoria Freezes: Coldest Day Hits Melbourne Suburbs

Melbourne residents woke up to a significant cold snap on August 1, 2026, with several suburbs recording their coldest temperatures of the year. Laverton and Scoresby, in the city's west and east respectively, experienced conditions near freezing point, with Laverton reaching 0.8 degrees Celsius and Scoresby dropping to 0.7 degrees. These were the coldest readings at these locations since August of the previous year.

The city center also felt the chill, with Olympic Park reaching 2.6 degrees Celsius at 7:30 AM, making it feel like minus 0.6 degrees. This was the coldest temperature recorded there since August 19, 2025, and notably colder than Hobart at the same time. Avalon recorded the coldest temperature in the metro area at minus 0.7 degrees, though its coldest day of the year was July 10, 2026.

Conversely, Victoria's alpine regions have endured one of their warmest winters on record, severely impacting the ski season. Unseasonably warm weather and rains with tropical connections meant precipitation fell as liquid water rather than snow, leading to what is expected to be one of the worst snow seasons in recent history. Mount Hotham saw maximum temperatures over three degrees above average this winter.

Despite the poor snow conditions, meteorologists noted that a reasonable base of snowfall remains in the Alps and is likely to persist. Official data indicates that Melbourne's winter, overall, has been slightly warmer than usual, with average minimum and maximum temperatures being marginally higher than the long-term average.