Heavy Snowfall Across Parts Of Australia

Heavy snow has fallen across parts of Australia despite it being more than a month into spring.

More than 300 motorists were rescued after the snow brought traffic to a standstill west of Sydney, and up to 2,500 homes lost their power supply.

Areas affected include the Blue Mountains, Blackheath, Mount Victoria, Medlow Bath, and the Megalong Valley.

A spokesman for the Endeavour Energy company said: "We are hoping an expected break in the weather will allow us to use a helicopter to survey the damage from the air."

Drivers were stranded as the Great Western Highway in the Blue Mountains became impassable, with slicks of potentially deadly black ice developing as temperatures plunged.

Emily Lambert, team leader at the RSPCA Blue Mountains Animal Shelter, arrived for work in Katoomba and found several centimetres of snow.

"The animals found it quite funny," she said. "One border collie didn't know what to make of it and ran around, trying to chase the snow flakes."

Video footage showed kangaroos jumping across snow-covered grass.

Blue Mountains city councillor Don McGregor said the snow was the thickest for 10 years.

He added: "I'm no skier, but I'm confident I could ski on it."

A severe weather warning of strong winds has also been issued.

People in Sydney, the Illawarra, the Hunter and south coast were told to avoid the surf, as an "intense" low pressure system moves slowly northeast.

Forecasters say temperatures will rise over the weekend and winds will start to ease.