Sydney's run of unusually cold mornings will extend well into next week as mostly clear skies combine with light winds and a frigid air mass set to sink the mercury.
The city's temperature is forecast to drop as low as 5 degrees on Saturday morning, which would make it the coldest day since last August. Friday's 6.2 degree minimum was the coolest July day since 2012, or about 2 degrees below average, according to Weatherzone.
"Conditions will be quite pleasant during the day for Sydney. It's just overnight temperatures that could be chilly," Guy Dixon, a meteorologist for Weatherzone, said.
Inland regions, such as Richmond, are forecast to get as cold as minus-1 degrees on Saturday and Sunday.
Daytime temperatures, though, should climb across most of Sydney on Saturday and reach 18 degrees most days until Tuesday.
Visitors to the snowfields will see more than artificial snow after Thursday's cold front brought as much as 10 centimetres of snow to alpine resorts such as Thredbo.
The natural base, though, remains meagre but another front coming through on Monday or Tuesday should provide another dusting, Mr Dixon said.
As of late Friday, eight of 14 lifts at Thredbo were operating and nine of the 57 runs were open. Perisher had 20 of its 48 lifts going, with 22 of 133 runs open, according to the ski.com.au website.
After a promising start in late May, the snow season has been a poor one with little natural snow at the start of July.
The best prospects for decent falls will from about Sunday, July 12, with signs of increased frontal activity showing up on the longer-range charts, Mr Dixon said.
"Mid-way through July, we're looking for the most significant snow event this season, he said.
"We're hoping that this snow event will be more prolonged and set up more of an established base."
