Snow business is really cool for kids

A cold front will blast NSW and the ACT for the rest of the week, setting the ski season up for a great start.

Paul Heginbothom and son George, 3, test the temperature at Thredbo on Wednesday. Picture: Rohan Thomson

A cold front will blast NSW and the ACT for the rest of the week, with temperatures expected to drop 5C-10C below average, setting the ski season up for a great start.

Frigid temperatures have begun to hit the state, forcing major cities and regional areas to rug up even before the coldest temperatures forecast for Thursday and Friday.

“What we’re going to see as a result of (the) cold front is a very cold mass of air sitting across NSW,” Bureau of Meteorology meteorologist Gabrielle Woodhouse said on Wednesday.

“That’s going to bring some very cool temperatures to the state … we’ve already seen some of that effect in NSW and the ACT.”

Temperatures would most likely get close to the June record for lowest minimum temperature on Thursday, Ms Woodhouse said, with the Sydney CBD expected to record a maximum of 11C, and Canberra just 9C.

The cold front had begun to cross the state earlier this week, bringing “fairly widespread” rainfall towards the eastern part of NSW. There were even some southern parts of the state that saw light smatterings of hail.

Snow, which has begun plummeting on the northern and southern tablelands, will continue to accumulate ahead of the Queen’s Birthday long weekend.

Thredbo temperatures will stay below 2C, with the mountain village expecting 50cm of snowfall by the end of the week before the sun comes out next Monday.

More than half a metre of snow could be dumped on other alpine peaks in the southern tablelands and the Snowy Mountains before Friday, Ms Woodhouse said. “We’re looking at more significant snowfall accumulations through the northern tablelands on Thursday so we could see anywhere from a couple of centimetres up to 10cms.

“Further south towards the central tablelands, we are seeing some reports of snow or sleet falling, particularly around the higher parts, and that’s going to fall into lower levels as we go into tonight and tomorrow,.”

The BOM has issued warnings to holiday-goers who plan to travel to the snow at the long weekend to be cautious of changing road conditions. Ms Woodhouse cautioned drivers to take precautionary steps and look out for heavy snowfall and black ice.