A surge of cold air will cause showers, thunderstorms, hail and snow in NSW during the next couple of days, with damaging winds also likely in some areas.
A strong late-season cold front will sweep across south-eastern Australia between Thursday and Saturday, crossing NSW on Friday.
The passage of this front will cause showers and thunderstorms over a broad area of southern and central NSW.
The heaviest falls will occur on and west of the ranges on Friday, where totals of 10 to 20 millimetres are likely and some places could see more than 30mm.
Rain will taper off on the weekend as the front moves out into the Tasman Sea, although a few light showers will persist over the state's southern and central slopes and ranges on Saturday.
In addition to the rain, this strong front will also cause small hail and allow snow to reach low levels in southern and central NSW.
The air should become cold enough for snow to reach around 800 metres elevation in southern NSW from Friday and similar elevations in central NSW by Saturday.
The heaviest snow will fall in the alps, where some areas could see over 20 centimetres of fresh snow by Sunday.
Strong and potentially damaging winds will also develop ahead of and with the passage of the front on Friday.
Wind will also remain blustery on the exposed slopes and ranges on Saturday, in the wake of the front.
This will be a dangerous weather event in some parts of NSW, so be sure to check the latest warnings.
Calmer weather will return by the beginning of next week, although there are early signs that another rain-bearing system will cross NSW around the middle of next week.
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