Strong winds brought the chill factor at the airport weather station down to the freezing level just before 10am when the actual reading was 5.5 degrees.

Peaks in the Grampians were covered in snow during the morning and Mount William was a winter wonderland for visitors. 

Temperatures were below freezing all day on the Grampians’ highest peak, with the coldest level recorded at 6am when it was minus 2.7 degrees (the apparent temperature was minus 5.1 degrees). The Otways were also showered in a white blanket of snow.

Heavy hail showers blanketed the region, creating a layer of white on gardens and paddocks. Falls were particularly heavy in the Ayrford region.

The hail created dangerous and slippery conditions on roads across the region, with cars sliding or rolling off the Hopkins Highway, north of Purnim, in the morning and on the Princes Highway at Gnotuk yesterday afternoon.

VicRoads also advised motorists to slow down and drive carefully due to ice on the road at Mortlake and between Casterton and Coleraine. 

The mercury was at its lowest in Warrnambool at 2.30am when the airport weather station recorded just 4 degrees. Portland’s temperature dropped to 4.4 degrees, Mortlake’s to 3.2 and Hamilton’s to 2.8 degrees, but the chill factor was at minus 2.8, minus 6 and minus 6.3 respectively.

More than 18 millimetres of rain was recorded in the 24 hours to 9am and by 4pm, a further 1.2mm had fallen.