National

First snow falls as sudden chill brings wild weather

Mar 27, 2026

Lightening strikes over the Auburn Gallipoli Mosque in western Sydney — Tens of thousands of people lost power in NSW following a severe storm. -AAP Image

A sudden burst of strong winds and heavy rain has combined with a cold snap to herald the arrival of a blustery autumn as the first snow of the year fell at popular resorts.

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Thousands of people remain without power after a series of wild storms soaked communities in multiple states.

While many storm watchers kept their eyes on the west and the path of Tropical Cyclone Narelle, Australia's east coast was slammed on Thursday night, with more warnings in place for Friday.

Tens of thousands of people lost power in NSW late on Thursday, with about 4000 homes still without electricity on Friday morning.

The State Emergency Service recorded 400 incidents across NSW, including 46 in Dubbo, which was badly affected by severe thunderstorms.

Severe winds partially collapsed a crane on a building site in the central west NSW city, with footage on social media showing a crane operator escaping just in time.

The storm caused chaos for commuters, with trains and Metro services cancelled on Sydney's north shore.

Emergency crews responded to multiple reports of fallen trees that damaged cars and tangled powerlines.

Fans at Brookvale Oval were forced to take cover before the NRL game between Manly-Warringah and the Sydney Roosters as the ground was inundated.

Wind gusts of more than 100km/h are forecast on Friday for many southern coastal areas in NSW as the vigorous coastal low continues to impact large swathes of the state.

Destructive winds are likely along much of the coastline before easing across the weekend.

In Victoria, windy conditions persisted into Friday, with southerly gusts of about 90km/h recorded in Melbourne.

Thursday sport was also impacted in the state, with most of the first day of the Sheffield Shield final washed out and Geelong's home AFL game against Adelaide heavily affected by the wet conditions.

The Bureau of Meteorology is forecasting blizzard conditions for alpine areas above 1900m on Friday, with damaging winds averaging 80 to 90km/h possible into the afternoon.

The first dusting of snow has fallen in the alpine areas of southeast Australia overnight, with a very cold air mass moving through.

Some 10cm of snow fell overnight at Perisher, Australia's largest ski resort, with 15cm at Thredbo.

Parts of NSW and the Australian Capital Territory could experience their coolest March day in more than 30 years, the bureau said.