Courtesy of an Antarctic cold front that swept through Victoria and NSW earlier this week, Sydney recorded its coldest day in 37 years on Thursday June 10, recording a maximum of just 10.3 degrees at Sydney’s Observatory Hill. The last time Sydneysiders shivered through a day as chilly was back in 1984.
While the people of our sunshine city really aren’t built for the cold – the kind of temps that make our teeth chatter are considered delightfully balmy across most parts of Northern Europe – there is one upside to this local cold snap. Parts of rural NSW have been blanketed with snow, offering Sydney’s snow virgins a rare opportunity to experience the white stuff on home turf. Orange in NSW’s Central West, Oberon in the Central Tablelands and, closest to Metropolitan Sydney, Blackheath in the Blue Mountains, have all recorded notable levels of snowfall. In fact, most places above elevations of 800 metres above sea level have experienced some degree of snow in the past 48-hours.
In places where snow is commonly expected, such as the Perisher Valley, the ski-fields have been blanketed with especially heavy falls of up to a metre. But if you want to live your best Frozen fantasy, you’ll have to be quick. The cold front is now moving offshore and temperatures are expected to rise over the long weekend.