Australia Weather News

New South Wales has been gripped by freezing conditions with some parts of the state dipping below -10 degrees Celsius and others experiencing their coldest temperatures in decades.

The coldest place overnight was at Marangaroo, not far from Lithgow, where the Defence weather station registered a low of -11.1C at around 7:20am.

Armidale was the second coldest spot in the state, with -10.1C recorded at the city's Tree Group Nursery.

Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) forecaster Jordan Notara told the ABC that Armidale had not been this cold since 2006.

Glenn Innes, which is renowned for being nippy in mid-winter, experienced a low of -9C, while at Cooma airport it was the coldest it had been in seven years at -10C.

Meanwhile, a photograph from the ABC's Weather Obsessed Facebook group showed cows with frost settled on their foreheads and ears at Guyra, a town between Armidale and Glen Innes where temperatures reached -4C overnight.

Photos from the group also showed frosty conditions around the rest of the country.

Coldest temperature in 26 years in Dubbo

The thermometer fell to -6C last night in Dubbo, in the west of the state.

"It's the lowest annual minimum temperature in the 26 years the weather station has been operating," Mr Notara said.

On the ground in Orange, around 150km south-east of Dubbo, one of the BOM probes measured -14.3C.

"It hasn't been that cold [there] since 2002," Mr Notara said, adding there had been widespread frost in the area.

The overnight temperature recorded at the Orange Agricultural Institute's station was -5.8C, an 18-year low according to the BOM.

Overall, Orange was at least 4C below the July average and many residents reported their pipes had frozen.

"Across the Central West slopes and plains, the temperatures have been up to 6C below the average for July," Mr Notara said.

Sydneysider Clare Brown, who is spending the weekend in Orange, said it was a "crispy" morning.

"But with a jacket, gloves, beanie and knee-high woollen socks, it was all good."

By midday she had ventured out to enjoy the "beautiful, sunny, crystal clear day".

"There's not a cloud in the sky," she said.

In Parkes the minimum was 9C below average with a low of -7C.

'Winter wonderland' in Bathurst

Near Bathurst in the Central West, local Jenny Barry described the conditions at her home as "a total winter wonderland, it was like someone had sprayed snow on the front gate".

"You should see the ocean of fog. Bathurst is surrounded in fog," Ms Barry said.

Temperatures in Narrabri further north fell to just below zero, which is 8C below average.

Meanwhile in Wagga Wagga in the Riverina it was -4C at 3am, almost 7C below average.

Sydney temps below monthly average

In Sydney's greater west the temperatures were between 5C and 7C below the July average.

Richmond bore the brunt of the chill, experiencing a particularly cold morning, recording -7C at 7am.

Despite the frosty conditions, Mr Notara said the current high pressure system that is causing the colder temperatures is not conducive to snow.

"However, a front is coming through and we will start to see snow Monday through to Tuesday in the Snowy Mountains, in areas above 1000 metres," he said.

North Richmond resident Mary Jo McDonnell said she had the fire going but still could not get warm.

"I couldn't turn my head in bed because the pillows were so cold, I'm not joking," she said.

The cold was "permeating all through the house", she said.

"I could feel it coming up through the floor, the ceiling, the walls."

The pipes had not frozen so there was still running water and outside "there was a very thick frost on the front lawn and the car windscreen was thick with ice".