A monster blizzard is forecast to smother large parts of south-eastern Australia late this week, potentially bringing the largest snow falls this winter.
While alpine regions in NSW and Victoria are set to bear the brunt, lower lying areas are also expected to receive snow flurries and powerful winds, Weatherzone reports.
Early this week, ski resorts got a taste of what is coming when winds of more than 80km/h forced the closure of lifts at Thredbo in NSW and Mount Hotham in Victoria.
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But those gusts are expected to strengthen to 100km/h as the initial cold front tracks to the mountains today, and again on Friday when a second cold front approaches.
Weather forecasters say the extreme conditions are being generated by polar air masses over the Great Australian Bight.
Areas that can expect a dumping of snow include the NSW Central Tablelands, west of Sydney, and a large stretch of Victoria, north of Melbourne.
From late tomorrow into Friday, falls will hover at about 1000 metres or slightly lower.
But when the coolest polar air crosses the mountains early on Saturday, the snow line is likely to fall to as low as 500 metres.
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Weather watchers and sports fans will be closely watching what happens in Canberra on Saturday in the NRL match between the Canberra Raiders and Wests Tigers at the city’s stadium.
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Forecasters say by the 3pm kick-off, conditions for snowfalls will have cleared in the ACT, but there’ll be chilly temperatures with the chance of the odd snow fall.
The dumping of snow will be welcome by the ski industry, with the season probably extending into late September, or even early October.
Motorists are being warned the snow will leave many roads in a treacherous condition, not just in the alpine regions, but also further afield.
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