NSW Prepares for a “Blustery Outbreak”

The Bureau of Meteorology have advised that cold and blustery winter weather is expected in New South Wales, particularly southern and centrals parts of New South Wales.

This “Blustery Outbreak” will bring strong westerly winds with a series of cold fronts. The first cold front will move through southern NSW on Thursday. The second cold front will sweep across the state between Friday and Saturday.

Damaging winds in the Alpine region are expected from Wednesday afternoon and strong winds away from the alpine peaks are expected Thursday through to Saturday. Districts that may be impacted include Snowy Mountains, South Coast, Illawarra, Southern Tablelands, Central Tablelands (including the Blue Mountains) and South West Slopes. These conditions will make temperatures feel a lot cooler with the wind chill factor from these strong winds.

On Thursday snow is expected to fall to around 1100m around the Alpine areas and SWS in the south, which includes all ski resorts. Across the Alpine region a significant amount of snow is expected to fall over the 3 day period, likely at least half a metre in ski resorts.

During Saturday morning, snow is forecast for in the south (such as Tumburumba) above 600m, extending to above 900 metres over the Central Tablelands, possibly affecting places like Oberon and Orange then later on Saturday possibly extending north to Barrington Tops. Precipitation totals outside the Alpine Region are not expected to be high (only a few cm of snow).

The Bureau of Meterology have advised the combination of snow and strong winds will mean blizzard conditions and low visibility for the alpine peaks and ski resorts. This will also impact driving conditions around the Snowy Mountains. As there is the chance of snow down to Jindabyne, access roads to the ski fields will be dangerous.

Showers about the southern and central western slopes and ranges may be gusty on Thursday and Friday. Small hail is possible with showers on Saturday for the Snowy Mountains and southwestern slopes.

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