The "biggest" weather event of winter is set to hit South-East Australia from tomorrow and through this weekend with snow possible up to the Northern Tablelands and even sleet in the granite belt of Queensland.
The cold burst through the weekend will see up to a metre of snow dumped amid blizzards in the Snowy Mountains and some decent rain of up to 20mm in parts of southern and south-west slopes of NSW.
And it will also be wild and windy, says the Bureau of Meteorology.
Snow down to 700m means many areas of the Tablelands will get a dusting this weekend.
The rain will only be average in most areas but will stretch up the central spine of NSW.
The Bureau issued this warning to graziers today:
"Sheep graziers are warned that cold temperatures, showers and westerly winds are expected during Thursday. Areas likely to be affected include the Southern Tablelands, South West Slopes, Snowy Mountains and Australian Capital Territory forecast districts and parts of the Northern Tablelands, Illawarra, Central Tablelands, Central West Slopes & Plains and Riverina forecast districts. There is a risk of losses of lambs and sheep exposed to these conditions."