Heavy spring snow falls recorded in parts of New South Wales in Australia
Snow has fallen around the Central and Southern Tablelands. Source: Twitter @BOM_NSW/Michael Sobotta
Up to 40cm of snow is expected to drop around the Central and Southern Tablelands in New South Wales over the weekend.
A wintry blast in early spring has brought strong winds and snow to parts of NSW.
Damaging winds of 115km/h were recorded at Camden in Sydney’s southwest on Friday night while gusts reached 106km/h in the city.
A severe weather warning is in place on Saturday for damaging winds with gusts of more than 90km/h expected in the Illawarra and parts of the Southern and Central Tablelands.
Snow has fallen around the Central and Southern Tablelands, including at Orange, Oberon and the Barrington Tops, and higher parts of the ACT.
About 20cm of snow fell in the alpine region overnight, with up to 40cm expected to drop during the weekend.
Bureau of Meteorology NSW-ACT manager Agata Imielska said the cold front had brought cool conditions across much of the state.
“The feels-like temperature is likely to be 10 degrees colder than the forecast temperature,” she told reporters.
For Sydney, this means the forecast of 19C will feel more like 8C or 9C during the day.
She warned driving conditions in parts of the state could be hazardous because of the weather and urged people heading out during the school holidays to be cautious.
The wintry blast is not rare for spring, which Ms Imielska said brought “changeable conditions”.
“(This is a) classic example of warmer conditions ahead of a front bringing those very windy and cold conditions as the front moves through,” she said.
The cold blast is expected to be over fairly quickly, with temperatures to warm up on Sunday.
Despite the chilly weather in Sydney and southern NSW, the state’s north and far north coast are experiencing a very high fire danger on Saturday.
“Very dry and windy conditions have elevated fire conditions in the north coast,” she said.
Fire and Rescue NSW responded to “many calls due to wind and storm related emergencies” on Friday evening.
In western Sydney, strong winds caused a large KFC bucket to fall from onto the road and footpath in Hoxton Park, requiring a fire engine and ladder to clear the scene.
A large tree collapsed onto a car in Sydney’s south-western suburb of Bardia. The driver suffered minor injuries.
