Strong winds and snow hit areas of southern New South Wales last night, bringing a dramatic end to a cold autumn day.
From the snowfields to the Southern Highlands, a combination of very cold air from south of Australia and moisture caused widespread snow, along with winds of 113kph in some areas.
There were reports of 15 centimetres of snow at Falls Creek and Hotham, while Robertson was covered in snow just hours after wrapping up the Robertson Potato Festival, which drew thousands of tourists across the weekend.
Snow through the night
Sunday was the first snowfall for sub-alpine regions for 2023 with areas such as Brown Mountain, Nimmitabel and Perisher Valley blanketed.
Although the wind blew some of it away overnight, plenty of snow could still be seen this morning with snow and ice warnings in place for motorists travelling on the Snowy Mountains and Monaro highways.
"It was the first one, and it was a big one," Nimmitabel resident Rod Coleman said.
"We ended up with about eight to 10 centimetres of snow."
Mr Coleman said snow had fallen in the town in May before, but the amount was unexpected.
"It's not unusual to get it, but to snow all day like it did yesterday was really surprising," he said.
"It just didn't stop … it snowed all day."
Heavy wind
The Bureau of Meteorology recorded a maximum temperature of 1.7 degrees Celsius at the Cooma weather station on Sunday, marking a new May record.
The wild weather is also being felt on the coast, with the bureau recording a 113kph wind gust at Baraguba [Montague Island] at 3:00am today, and a 98kph wind gust at Green Cape lighthouse near Eden just after midnight.
A severe weather warning for damaging surf and a storm force wind was issued for the Batemans Coast and Eden Coast today.
David White, who has been volunteering at Marine Rescue Narooma for four years, described the conditions as "unbelievable".
"This is the first time I've ever seen a storm force wind warning," he said.
"The seas are up to six metres … and the waves are breaking on the bar, so it's pretty spectacular to watch but you wouldn't want to be out there."
Snow causes traffic trouble
The Great Alpine Road between Harrietville and Hotham Heights was closed yesterday after several crashes due to snow and poor conditions.
"The conditions were a lot more treacherous and number of vehicles trying to get on and off the mountain, unfortunately, left the road," SES deputy unit controller Mark Warner, from Bright, said.
A man in his 60s was taken to Wangaratta Hospital with neck injuries after the car he was driving went over an embankment at Mount Hotham at 2:45pm Sunday.
The car, which was towing a camper trailer, slid off the road and rolled several metres down the mountain.
"The caravan slipped off first and that resulted in dragging the four-wheel drive and the two occupants over the edge with it," Mr Warner said.
He said the incident could have been a lot worse with the car falling about 20 metres down the mountain.
A passenger in the car was able to free themself while the SES high-angle unit was called in to extract the man.
Victoria police said several incidents on the road prompted its closure.
Mr Warner said his unit had to conduct rescues on the first snow of the season for the past five years.
"Snow conditions on the road are still dangerous," he said.
"We do stress that people do heed the warnings, make sure they are prepared and drive to the road conditions."
There are less than five weeks until the beginning of the official snow season, but Mount Hotham and Falls Creek have been transformed into a winter wonderland at the weekend.
Hotham recorded between 10cm and 15cm.
