The Bureau of Meteorology said the polar cold front, which caused the drop in temperature and damaging winds in four states, has now moved offshore.
However, the southeast of the country will experience “a mass of very cold and windy air” for the next 24 to 48 hours.
“Temperatures have dropped significantly with the front as cold air rises from the south of the country,” the office said.
“Strong winds made the temperature ‘felt’ much lower.”
The office warned that the damaging winds could ease briefly on Thursday, but another polar outburst is expected to hit the southeast over the weekend.
“While this system will bring more cold and snowy conditions, it won’t be as windy,” the bureau added.
Snowfall in low lying areas of three states
Snowfall is also expected to fall in suburbs as low as 600 meters above sea level.
‘The coldest air will move over southeastern areas on Tuesday afternoon and into the evening, with snow levels falling to 600-800m for NSW, Vic and Tas,’ the office said.
New and heavy snowfall means the 2022 ski season is well underway.
The office said there had been reports of 15 to 20 centimeters of snow at alpine resorts with more snow and blizzards forecast in the coming days.
Rhylla Morgan of Buller Ski Lifts today said the fresh snowfall at Mount Buller in Victoria is “absolutely magical”.
Australian ski communities have struggled over the past two years of lockdowns and travel bans, and are hoping for a resumption of the 2022 season.
“There’s a lot of excitement here in the mountain community,” Morgan said.
“It will be a very big season, we hope.
“It’s a really good way to start.”
Bookings were strong before the slopes opened, with reservations already being made through September.
Perisher Valley in New South Wales has seen 20cm of snowfall since last night, with the falls continuing this morning.
More than 70cm are expected to fall over the coming week, before the ski season opens on June 11.
Thousands without electricity, downed trees
Around 5,500 people on the Gold Coast and Queensland Hinterlands were cut off from the grid this morning as high winds of over 60km/h were recorded.
Inbound flights are being delayed, canceled and merged at Brisbane Airport due to the conditions.
However, no delays for departing flights have yet been reported.
The SES answered at least 500 calls across NSW, while the storm system left 18,000 homes without power – 14,000 of them still without light this morning.
The storm, with winds of up to 120km/h, battered everywhere from metropolitan Sydney, north to Newcastle and even Armidale, as well as Queensland’s Darling Downs.
A tree fell on a Mercedes parked in Sydney’s Double Bay overnight, shocking residents.
“It looked like a tornado, you saw the storm coming and it literally ripped through the gardens in three minutes tops,” one resident told 9News.
“You heard that huge crack. Yeah, that was pretty terrifying.”
Cities cut off by floodwaters for second time this year