Heavy snow in NSW Tablelands: Phone and power services down, vehicles stuck

State Emergency Service crews responded to more than 100 cars trapped in snow after unprecedented falls in northern New South Wales yesterday. Photo / NSW SES

Vehicles have been bogged down, phone service cut, and thousands of residents are without power after heavy snow blanketed parts of New South Wales.

Parts of the state’s Northern Tablelands recorded heavy snowfalls of up to 40cm at the weekend, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

BOM meteorologist Helen Reid said the snow was generated by “a pool of cold air” that moved in over the towns of Guyra, Armidale, Uralla and Walcha.

“Many locations saw as much as 20 to 40cm of snow, with snow tending to be quite heavy at times during Saturday afternoon,” she said.

“In Queensland, snow flurries were observed across parts of the Darling Downs … these amounted to very little on the ground.”

Uralla’s Bolt Inn, a popular local pub, became a shelter for those seeking refuge from the icy conditions on Sunday.

“Due to the snowstorm in Uralla, the Bolt Inn will be closed until further notice as we currently have no power,” a post on the pub’s Instagram account read.

“We’re sheltering people on floors and chairs throughout the pub, and with many road closures we are staying safe inside.”

Others were more keen to get out and make the most of the snow, with footage posted by a Guyra local showing a person skiing on the “slopes” of the town’s golf course.

“A huge thank you to our amazing staff who are here helping to keep everyone safe and warm,” the caption read.

NSW SES Assistant Commissioner Nicole Hogan said emergency services in the New England area were responding to treacherous traffic conditions caused by “black ice”, a term used to describe the formation of slippery, transparent ice over roads.

“We have road crash crews propositioned and ready to respond to any rescues, but we ask the community to please avoid unnecessary travel,” she said.

“If you do need to be on the roads in areas with snow, drive with caution, always use your brakes gently and drive slowly.”

The NSW SES reported more than 100 vehicles got stuck on the New England Highway as heavy snow made driving on almost impossible.

More than 6000 homes across Walcha, Guyra, Uralla, and Armidale remain cut off from the power grid according to Essential Energy.

This is down from the peak of 11,000 reported yesterday.

An Essential Energy spokesperson said crews were hoping to continue repairs today, weather permitting.

“There is a large amount of reconstruction work required in some areas to rebuild areas of the network that have been damaged during the storms over the weekend,” they said.

“That includes the replacement of power poles.

“Helicopters and additional crews are ready to come in to support as soon as it’s safe to do so.”

The company also urged residents to stay away from downed power lines.

Mobile phone outages have also been widely reported across the area, some of which are expected to last until late tomorrow.

In a message on their live outage tracker, Telstra said the severe weather” had caused widespread outages across the state’s north.

“We’re working to get everything back online ASAP. Thanks for your patience,” it read.