Heavy snowfall and wild weather has brought havoc to parts of Australia with towns cut off as major highways are forced to close.
The Great Western Highway leading into the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, was temporarily shut down as icy conditions gripped the area on Saturday morning.
The State Emergency Service NSW Blue Mountains set up refuge stations during the closure to help drivers stuck on the roads.
The main road was reopened several hours after it closed at 7.45am with drivers still urged to take care.
A Bureau of Meteorology spokesperson said it expected to see the wild weather and snowfall to continue for much of the weekend before easing up on Monday.
Heavy snowfall and wild weather has brought havoc to parts of Australia with towns cut off as major highways are forced to close (pictured, a resident at Blackheath)
The Great Western Highway leading into the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, was temporarily shut down as icy conditions gripped the area on Saturday morning (pictured, The Three Sisters at Katoomba)
The State Emergency Service NSW Blue Mountains set up refuge stations during the closure to help drivers stuck on the roads (pictured, snow blanketing cars at Katoomba)
Temperatures at nearby Lithgow dropped to a freezing 4C overnight while residents at Katoomba woke up to snow covered front yards on Saturday morning.
A Bureau of Meteorology spokesperson said as much as eight centimetres of snow had fallen around the region overnight.
‘We still think there’s possibility of more snowfall over the next 24 to 36 hours,’ the BoM spokesperson said.
Train services were also called off leading into the Blue Mountains due to the dangerous conditions on the tracks.
Sydney Airport has reported seven flight cancellations across its domestic terminals with some planes delayed up to 30 minutes.
Some international flights have been delayed up to 45 minutes, though there have been no cancellations.
A spokesperson urged passengers to check in with their airlines to double-check if their flights had been affected.
NSW Police also issued a warning to drivers to take care following a 18 multi-vehicle crash in the state’s Alpine region last night.
Two cars were stopped along Bullocks Drive, at Crackeneback when an oncoming police car attempted to brake, though slid into the cars.
Eleven other oncoming vehicles failed to brake on time and were involved in the crash, while a further five vehicles ended up on the side of the road and in the snow.
In Orange temperatures were recorded at a bitter 0C, though the apparent temperature plummeted to -5C.
The freezing temperatures has led BoM to issue a sheep graziers warning for most of the state.
‘There is potential for loss of lamb or sheep exposed to cold temperatures,’ the BoM said.
A severe weather warning for damaging winds has also been put in place for places like Illawarra, parts of south coast, parts of Hunter, eastern parts of Central Tablelands, eastern parts of south tablelands and eastern parts of snowy mountains.
Wind speeds of up to 90k/h are expected to batter the region.
Animals rugged up as heavy snowfall left parts of the Victorian countryside under a blanket of white
Temperatures at nearby Lithgow dropped to a freezing 4C overnight while residents at Katoomba woke up to snow covered front yards on Saturday morning (pictured, a Katoomba property)
A Bureau of Meteorology spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia as much as eight centimetres of snow had fallen around the region overnight (pictured, a property at Katoomba)
A severe weather warning for damaging winds was cancelled for Sydney, however a strong wind warning remains in place for Sydney’s coastal waterways.
Hazardous surf is also predicted for the entire NSW coast except the Byron region.
The bureau says the last of a series of cold fronts sweeping across the state will clear on early Monday.
Winds topped 113km/h on the South Coast’s Montague Island on Friday while triple-digit gust speeds were also recorded at Kiama and Bellambi.
Should the strong winds pick up again, more delays and cancellations are likely at Sydney Airport, where more than 180 domestic flights were cancelled on Friday.
The damaging winds also ripped the roof off the Presbyterian Aged Care facility at Stockton, in Newcastle, on Friday morning forcing the evacuation of about 30 people.
Authorities have urged people to remain vigilant as conditions will remain poor on the roads.
As much as eight centimetres of snow is estimated to have fallen at Katoomba overnight
NSW Police also issued a warning to drivers to take care following a 18 multi-vehicle crash in the state’s Alpine region last night (pictured, snow in the backyard of a Katoomba property)
The SES have received more than 900 requests for help since midnight Thursday, including 370 in the Sydney region.
Almost 200 new jobs have come in since midnight Saturday, with most relating to fallen trees and branches, with some reporting roof damage.
While much of the state continues to freeze through the wild weather, bushfire season has been declared.
More than 350 firefighters are dealing with 60 separate fires, with half of them not contained.
Five out-of-control fires ripped through Kempsey yesterday with authorities saying a particularly dry July has brought the fire season early.
Parts of Victoria were also left covered in a blanket of snow with even snowfall brought to lower parts of the state at places like Mount Dandenong.
Mount Buller recorded a staggering 18cm of snowfall overnight while the temperature dipped to -6C.
Train services were also called off leading into the Blue Mountains due to the dangerous conditions on the tracks (pictured, snow at Katoomba)
Parts of Victoria were also left covered in a blanket of snow with even snowfall brought to lower parts of the state at places like Mount Dandenong
Gale force winds have also battered parts of the state with windspeeds recorded as high as 100k/h.
More than 700 people called Victoria’s State Emergency Service for help on Friday, mostly for fallen trees, as a damaging cold front swept through the state.
A large tree fell on a family’s car at Fernsahw, in the Yarra Ranges, killing a woman at the scene.
A four-year-old boy continues to fight for his life in the Royal Children’s Hospital while a second boy, five, is likely to be discharged later on Saturday. The male driver was taken to The Alfred hospital.
In southeast Melbourne, rough seas claimed part of Frankston’s pier, with the end of the structure snapping off and floating away.
The suburb copped winds of 95km/h while gusts of 128km/h were recorded at Wilsons Promontory.
A view of a snow covered landscape in Victoria following an icy blast and wild weather
Snowfall in Victoria comes as parts of the state suffered through wild weather and ferocious winds on Friday