Big snow dumps and ice have closed roads in several parts of NSW, including the Blue Mountains.
Both the Great Western Highway and Bells Line of Road have been closed, leaving no way for motorists to travel between Sydney and Lithgow.
Authorities have advised motorists in the south and west of NSW to delay all non-essential travel, with the Hume Highway closed at Berrima, while the New England Highway in the northeast is closed between Glenn Innes and Armidale.
Rare snow in Queensland
Snow is rare in Queensland but unusual conditions have combined to deliver two falls in less than a week.
Southern Queensland has experienced its best snowfall in more than a decade overnight, with falls of up to 8cm reported.
White powder blanketed Stanthorpe, Applethorpe and Eukey between 1am and 4am, sending residents scurrying outside in pyjamas to see the winter wonderland.
It was the second round of snow in less than a week in Eukey, which copped a light dusting of the white stuff on Monday.
Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Adam Blazak said the wintry conditions were pleasantly surprising, given snow was infrequent in Queensland.
"It's tricky because you have to get this cold blast and it has to combine with a rainfall event," he told AAP.
"Usually we get these cold blasts come through but there's no precipitation."
'I've never ever, ever seen anything like this in my life'
Cold air squeezed through a high pressure system from the Great Australian Bight and an east coast low off the NSW coast, and then combined with an upper level trough to deliver the state's best snowfall in at least a decade, Mr Blazak said.
Stanthorpe local Michael Hilton said he was in awe at what he saw when he ventured outside just after 3am.
"I missed the 1984 snow. I've never ever, ever seen anything like this in my life. It's just like a winter wonderland," he told the ABC.
Mr Blazak expects the snow to stay on the ground until lunchtime provided it doesn't rain.
"If it rains it will melt away," he said.
Bitterly cold winds will continue to chill southern Queensland on Friday.
Wind gusts of up to 40 km/h to 50 km/h in Brisbane will make temperatures seem much cooler than the forecast top of 16 degrees.
NSW snow to stop on Friday
The Bureau of Meteorology says snow falls in Bowral, Mittagong and Katoomba in the Blue Mountains are expected to stop by the end of the day.
"The system that's causing it, the low that's sitting off the Illawarra coast, will move east. By tonight there will be no further snow falls outside of the ranges."
The spokesman said there was no snow predicted for the rest of the week.
Police are urging motorists to be cautious.
Emergency services are not being impeded by the snow, the spokeswoman said.
Share
