It's a wild, windy and snowy Tuesday in the high country of NSW and Victoria, with consistent wind gusts heading towards 100 km/h and steady snow falling.

You wouldn't know if it you're in Sydney where the temperature is hovering around 20°C at lunchtime, but in any of the other mainland southern capitals, the blustery winds and chilly temperatures are a reminder that we still have a month of winter left to run.

At 12:30 pm:

• Melbourne was 10.8°C with an apparent temp (feels like) of 6.6°C.
• Canberra was 9.8°C with an apparent temp (feels like) of 2.9°C.
• Sydney was 19.5°C with an apparent temp (feels like) of 12.9°C.
• Thredo Top Station, elevation 1957m, was -2.8°C with an apparent temp (feels like) of -17.8°C. Brrrr!

So even in Sydney, the strong norwesterly winds gusting up to nearly 50 km/h had the effect of knocking several degrees off the comfort level of an otherwise mild day.

But as mentioned, the real wintry action is in the mountains today.

Buckle up! The snowstorm is here ��☃� & showing no signs of slowing. Bring on the powdery goodness we love! 🙌 � pic.twitter.com/tpVCNzFVMW

— Falls Creek Official (@fallsaustralia) August 2, 2021

Ski resorts reported falls of 5 to 10 cm overnight on Tuesday morning, with more falling constantly throughout today. The snowfalls are expected to continue on and off through to about Thursday morning and should be at their heaviest this afternoon and evening.

This will all add to what is now an exellent base of snow, especially at the higher resorts. As we reported last Friday, the official NSW snow depth at Spencers Creek (roughly halfway between Perisher and Thredbo), as measured by Snowy Hydro, was 183.6 cm. That was the deepest in 21 years for July.

A little rain fell over the weekend after that reading, no doubt knocking 10 or 20 centimeters off the cover, but this week's falls should replenish the snowpack and then some, potentially pushing the total over 200 cm.

Image: It's a powder fest out there if you can just tolerate the ride up the hill. Source: perisher_resort Instagram.

Meanwhile, skiers and boarders are able to enjoy today's conditions if brave enough, although many chairlifts are on wind hold.

And as ever, Weatherzone would like to acknowledge the NSW snow lovers in our community who are unable to visit the mountains right now due to Covid lockdown. Don't worry: we're with you and we share your frustration.