Snow safety message

TASMANIA felt the full force of winter at the weekend and the Derwent Valley had perhaps some of the most spectacular snowfalls.

The Bureau of Meteorology reported snowfall down to 300m and while the temperatures didn’t drop as low as previously in the month, when it reached almost -8°C in Liawenee, there were plenty of spots in the Valley where temperatures were sub-zero.

On Saturday Bushy Park recorded a low of -2.1°C while Ouse had -2.2°C, and on Sunday Liawenee again found itself the coldest town in Tasmania, getting down to -3.3°C. ]

With the extreme temperatures came extreme weather.

Snow fell in Maydena, Bushy Park and as far down as Lachlan with substantial falls at Mt Field.

Rachel Power, who runs the Waterfalls Café at Mt Field, said the snow brought visitors to the national park, but the inexperienced snow drivers and careless inattentive behaviour made it a dangerous time to visit.

“If people are heading into the snow, they need to know how to drive to the conditions,” Ms Power said.

“We really want people to come and enjoy the snow but we want them to be safe on the roads.”

Ms Power noted visitors stopping to enjoy the snow in the most dangerous stretches of road.

“For at least the last five years we’ve had a serious access issue to Lake Dobson Road when there is snowfall, last weekend it’s been laughable, I’m starting to see memes about it.”

“There needs to be an engagement between all stakeholders to build a better management plan for these sorts of conditions.”

“Children playing in the snow next to ice covered roads is a recipe for disaster, even with four-wheel drives and chained tyres.”

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