With the last week of winter upon us, it's safe to say the 2023 Australian snow season will not go down in history as a great one.

Indeed, it appears that the 2023 peak depth will be the lowest since 2006, which statistically was the worst season on record. That makes 2023 the leanest snow season in 17 years.

The best gauge of Australian snow conditions comes from Snowy Hydro, which has measured snow depths at three NSW sites since 1954. The highest site is Spencers Creek, roughly halfway between Australia's two highest resorts Perisher and Thredbo, at an elevation of around 1830m.

• The 2023 peak depth to date at Spencers Creek was 131 cm on July 13
• The 2006 peak depth at Spencers Creek was 85.1 cm on August 31

We can't quite lock in the peak depth for 2023 yet, as there's always the chance of heavy snow in September. Indeed the 2022 season peaked on September 20 with a very healthy 232 cm.

But weather patterns at present do not favour snow-bearing systems heading over the mainland alpine region in coming weeks and months, as we've discussed in several stories this week.

While snow is still hanging in there at higher levels, with a reading of 110.7 cm at Spencers Creek this week, it's a very different story lower down.

Australians talk about the "snow line". It's a term with no strict technical definition which generally refers to the elevation at which a consistent snowpack can be found in winter.

• Depending where you are in the mainland high country, the midwinter snowline will usually be between about 1300 m and 1500 m on slopes that don’t directly face the sun.
• In 2023, there has been virtually no snow below about 1600m since mid-August.

The lack of snow at middle and lower elevations in the moiuntains is shown clearly in the data for Deep Creek, Snowy Hydro's second-highest measurement point, at 1620m.

If you look at the graph for 2023 vs 2022 (the current season is dark blue), you can see how the decent early season snowpack melted away in the extremely warm conditions in late July and most of August.

Image: Not a vintage year. Source: Snowy Hydro.

Indeed 2023 is only the third season since records began in 1954 that a zero cm reading has been registered at Deep Creek during August.

What does all this mean for the snowfields?

In short, it means conditions are still OK up high at the higher resorts and poor everywhere else.

Image: This was Thredbo on Monday, August 21, at an elevation of about 1750m. Snow at this level is still in reasonable condition, especially on runs like this one with snowmaking. Source: supplied.

Australia's lowest mainland resort Mt Baw Baw (Vic) still has two beginner lifts open on snowmaking snow with only tiny patches of natural snow remaining in shaded areas. The lowest NSW ski field, Selwyn Snow Resort (NSW) is temporarily closed.

On a brighter note, Australia's largest resort Perisher has 38 of its 47 lifts open, Thredbo has 13 of 15 lifts open and Falls Creek in Victoria also has 13 of its 15 lifts open.

Whether the resorts make it through to the scheduled season closure in early October remains to be seen.

Click here for the latest conditions at Thredbo, Perisher, Charlotte Pass, Selwyn (NSW) and Mt Buller, Hotham, Falls Creek and Mt Baw Baw (Vic). And don't forget the latest snow info, forecasts, cams and more on the Weatherzone snow page.