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Snow has fallen in parts of central western NSW as temperatures plummeted below zero overnight.
"There's snow everywhere," said Jill Gardiner, who lives about 10 kilometres out of Orange.
The Great Western Highway was closed between Lithgow and Bathurst overnight because of the inclement weather.
The highway reopened this morning, but one lane between Yetholme and Mount Lambie remained closed, a Transport Management Centre spokeswoman said.
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The Roads and Traffic Authority advised motorists travelling between Bathurst and Orange on the Mitchell Highway to "reduce speed" and "exercise caution" because of the snowy and icy conditions.
"There were cars in my neighbourhood that had snow on the windscreen," Christine Rapley, a newsagent from Orange, told AAP.
She told AAP the temperature fell below zero overnight, with snow affecting the delivery of newspapers.
"An upper level trough moving through the region brought snow to elevated areas in the central and southern tablelands. And part of the southern tablelands is an alpine area," said Peter Zmijewski, a senior forcecaster at the Bureau of Meteorology.
"You need the conditions above the ground where precipitation forms to be cold enough for snow to fall. And you need cold conditions on the ground so if it falls to the ground, the snow would stay on the ground. Otherwise it would melt straight away."
The snow came as Sydney shivered its way to the coolest temperatures for this time of the year since 1997, meteorologists said.
The maximum temperature in Sydney today will be 17 degrees after a top of just 16 degrees yesterday, with fairly strong and dry westerly winds bringing a wind-chill factor that makes it feel even cooler, weatherzone.com.au meteorologist Doug Fenton said.
The lower temperatures are expected to continue into next week.
"There are certainly going to be more cold mornings on the way," he said.
"We've got another cold front, which is going to come through NSW on Friday so this will keep maximum temperatures below average.
"There is an increased frequency of cold fronts coming through the south, which is basically bringing up cold air from the Antarctic and that cold air is certainly fairly unusual this early in the season and we are likely to see a continuation of this."
But if you were worried the dipping temperatures were signalling a cold winter ahead, fret not.
Mr Fenton said the cooler weather was not expected to persist for too long, with temperatures during the winter season forecast to hover around historical averages as "there are no strong climate drivers".
But at least one group of people would be enjoying the sudden cold patch - skiing enthusiasts.
"The increased frequency of cold fronts gives hope to people who love skiing," Mr Fenton said.
"We've had up to 15 centimetres of snow on the Snowy Mountains."
Weatherzone.com.au is owned by Fairfax Media, publisher of this website.
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