A wintery produced the perfect conditions for snow at Barrington Tops.
Keen snow chasers headed up to the Tops overnight, with snow reportedly falling on Saturday, Sunday and another dusting in the early hours of Monday morning. Snow has been falling in areas above 1100 metres, with those on the ground reporting several centimetres in some locations.
Related content: Barrington Tops snow in 2017
The Orwin family from Budgewoi packed up the caravan and headed to Polblue campground for the weekend, awaiting the snow.
“We drove up late Friday night and were hopeful we would see some snow,” mother Patricia Orwin said.
“Mia [age three] went two years ago but she was too little to remember it.
“When she woke up and looked out the caravan window she said it’s snowing, so you want to build a snowman?
“It was a lovely weekend the five of us had such an amazing time together.”
Drivers are reminded to stay safe on the roads, as showers are forecast to set in from Monday evening. Driving in the national park during a snowfall or ice event can be hazardous and motorists should heed warnings.
Rob Balint from the Barrington Tops Snow Chasers group said the coverage on Monday morning was heavy and pushed the message that only experienced four-wheel drivers should tackle the national park
“Up here this morning with about 10 to 15 centimetres of snow at Polblue and still snowing,” he said.
“Beautiful morning up here. Four by four cars only today, some people are now stuck up here in their two- wheel drives.
“Keep it slow and enjoy the snow.”
The Bureau of Meteorology has forecast a very high (95%) chance of showers along the Hunter’s coast, with the chance of a thunderstorm. Winds westerly 25 to 35 km/h turning southwesterly in the late morning. Daytime maximum temperatures between 12 and 16.
Large and powerful surf conditions in the evening are expected to be hazardous for coastal activities such as rock fishing, swimming and surfing.
Think it is cold now? More than 50 years ago parts of Cessnock received some 16 centimetres of snowfall during arguably the Hunter’s harshest winter. Read more about it here.
Jessica Brown
Jessica began her journalism career in 2009 as a cadet at The Port Stephens Examiner before moving to London for a two-year stint working in magazines and digital publishing. The Lake Macquarie local returned to Australia where she took up a reporting role at The Maitland Mercury. She worked across several rounds including local council, police and property before moving into digital journalism and joining the team at The Newcastle Herald in 2017.
Jessica began her journalism career in 2009 as a cadet at The Port Stephens Examiner before moving to London for a two-year stint working in magazines and digital publishing. The Lake Macquarie local returned to Australia where she took up a reporting role at The Maitland Mercury. She worked across several rounds including local council, police and property before moving into digital journalism and joining the team at The Newcastle Herald in 2017.
