It's the cold snap that put snowmen on the main street of a Queensland town.
But don't get too used to those woollen mitts - the winter wonderland isn't going to hang around for long.
The Bureau of Meteorology isn't expecting any more snow to fall in Queensland in coming days, and normal dustings for the alpine regions of NSW and Victoria.
The frosty conditions had caught the sunshine state off-guard after the southern regions experienced the best snowfall in 31 years overnight.
It blanketed Stanthorpe, Applethorpe and Eukey in the early hours of Friday morning, sending Granite Belt residents scurrying outside in pyjamas to lap up the wintry weather.
It was the second round of snow in less than a week in Eukey, which copped a light dusting on Monday.
BOM forecaster Jess Carey said between 5cm and 8cm had fallen near Stanthorpe.
"We haven't seen snow like this in 30 years," he told AAP.
"People talk about the 1984 event - it really is the most significant since then."
Stanthorpe local Michael Hilton said he was in awe 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 ABC Radio.
Other residents enjoyed snowball fights and built snowmen in the town centre.
The cold air squeezed through a high pressure system from the Great Australian Bight and an east coast low off the NSW coast.
In NSW, the wild weather was less enchanting, wreaking havoc on the state's roads.
Totals of up to 20cm fell in the Central and Southern Tablelands region, while winds of up to 100km/h were recorded along the coast.
The heavy snowfall led to more than 20 crashes, as well as leaving thousands without power and closing about 50 schools.
Emergency services personnel had to contend with treacherous conditions to respond to those in need, Chief Superintendent Simon Locke said.
The towns of Blackheath, Bowral, Berrima and Katoomba were among the worst hit by the power outages.
Meanwhile, residents of the Wimmera and Gippsland areas of Victoria have been warned to expect potentially dangerous frost, with temperatures forecast to dip below zero on Saturday morning.
The southern state felt the chill but didn't experience temperatures below winter averages, although the ski fields of Mount Hotham and Falls Creek received a 2cm top up.
South Australia also escaped the frost as the front moved up to the eastern states.
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