Severe frost to hit most of NSW as mercury to plunge below zero

SYDNEY and large parts of the state are braced for a big chill this weekend as temperatures plummet to below zero degrees in a wintry snap.

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BRRRR - we’re set to shiver this weekend as a cold snap moves over the Tasman Sea promising bright days but severe frost.

“There will be unbelievably widespread frost on Saturday morning, we haven’t seen in that widespread for a couple of years,” Sky News Weather meteorologist Tom Saunders said.

A cold front preceded by a cloud band and rain will cross New South Wales today and a low will develop within the front as it moves over the Tasman Sea. Behind the front, a high pressure system will move over southeast Australia on Friday, the Bureau of Meterolology said.

#NSWWeather Widespread frosts Saturday and Sunday morning as rain clears from northeast and a high moves over state: https://t.co/GBbpwF4jbu pic.twitter.com/lUEOs5xtnf

— BOM New South Wales (@BOM_NSW) June 28, 2017

Extreme conditions and low temperatures will usher in one of the hardest and most widespread frosts for years to the wide, open spaces of NSW.

Sydney will be cool enough with a low point of 7C when residents awake on Saturday, but Katoomba will be all a-shiver in -1C.

Frost covered grass.

Farmers of the Riverina will want the kettle on when they come in; Griffith is set for four mornings of frost from Thursday, and Wagga can look forward to minimums of -4C on Saturday and -3C on Sunday.

At its peak, the forecast for weekend frost is “severe” for most of NSW at 4am on Saturday.

Waterskiing on the Murrumbidgee would appear overrated without wetsuits.

Goulburn will face morning lows of 0C, -4C and -3C for four days from Thursday, and further north in Tamworth, temperatures of -2C will bring on the dragon’s breath for early risers on Saturday and Sunday.

But all this chill, generated by a couple of cold fronts working their way through the Great Australian Bight, will not translate into the fluffy stuff skiers love — unless you plan to visit western Tasmania, which is due to cop 20cm.

Hobart resident Jess Fenner got to grips with light snow at the summit of Mt Wellington today. Picture: Sam Rosewarne

Mainland resorts will be largely none the snowier for the snap, the Alps missing out on a big drop beyond a few scant centimetres.

The start of the ski season in the Snowy Mountains has been dire, with a natural snow depth of below 10cm even on higher ground — the average depth in late June is closer to 60cm.

At least NSW will be mostly dry — elsewhere in Australia, conditions are not only deeply wintry but a lot wetter. Southern inland Queensland has already received downpours, while parts of southern and central Victoria are due for a good soak in coming days.

So spare a thought for sporty kiddies getting up early Saturday morning to slide through icicles on bare knees while chasing balls. It’ll be good for ‘em, of course. They’ll survive — unlike any tomato plants cheeky enough to grow out of season.