Extreme snow falls and ice freeze parts of Australia

A strong cold front has brought widespread snow falls and ice, closing roads in the New South Wales' Central West and Southern Highlands.

It is expected to be the "coldest day" of the year for the Snowy Mountains, Canberra and Orange, the NSW Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) says, ABC News reported.

But skiers are celebrating, with up to a metre of snow falling at Perisher and Thredbo.

Sixty-six centimetres of snow fell overnight on Friday at Perisher and the resort is expecting further blizzard conditions for Saturday.

Drivers are warned to watch out for icy roads in the region — temperatures at Perisher are expected to stay sub zero and may feel like minus fifteen.

The wintry blast has also hit Victoria, with overnight temperatures falling to 2C in Ballarat and 3.8C at Melbourne airport.

The state's alpine region continued to shiver throughout the day, with Mount Buller a chilly -3.9C at 2:30pm.

Showers have been falling as snow above about 700 metres.