15/07/2009: Cold weather is taking hold across New South Wales with snow set to fall along the ranges during the day, according to weatherzone.com.au.

Snow is likely along the Northern and Central Tablelands this afternoon and evening, falling above around 1000 metres.

There is even the slight chance of a storm with some small hail moving through Sydney this evening.

"We are seeing a pool of very cold upper-level air moving across inland New South Wales this morning. It will reach the ranges this afternoon, before moving off the coast tonight," weatherzone.com.au meteorologist Matt Pearce said.

"As the cold upper-level air interacts with milder air near the surface, showers and isolated storms will develop this afternoon, falling as snow on the higher parts of the ranges."

As the cold pool moved across western New South Wales early this morning, it resulted in widespread showers, leading to reports of localised flooding of dirt roads. Bourke picked up 13mm in the 24 hours to 9am, its highest daily rainfall for July in three years.

Tomorrow, as the cold air moves offshore, it will cause a low pressure system to spin up in the Tasman Sea. This will lead to gusty winds and showers along the coast, clearing on Friday.

As skies clear and winds ease into the weekend, a period of very cold, frosty nights will then develop across the state.

"Unfortunately, this system will not bring significant snowfalls to the Snowy Mountains as the main focus of instability will be further north. However, the cold nights ahead will be perfect for snowmaking," Pearce said.

Media Inquiries:

Matt Pearce
media@weatherzone.com.au
02 9965 9236

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