Skiers and snowboarders have hit the slopes at Perisher one week earlier than anticipated as a dump of snow has made way for great ski conditions.
Another icy blast is expected to hit the region on Sunday evening, with even more snowfall expected.
The same icy blast will hit Canberra, with cold temperatures expected to remain in the nation's capital until at least the end of the week.
There are a series of troughs and cold fronts expected across south-eastern Australia over the coming days, Bureau of Meteorology forecasts say.
Snow is unlikely to fall on parts of metropolitan Canberra, but snowfall is expected at areas as low as 900 metres. Snow was falling on the peaks of the Brindabellas on Sunday afternoon.
The decision was made to start the season early at Perisher after more than 60 centimetres of snow fell during the past week.
On Saturday, Perisher received another 18 centimetres of snow and forecasts suggested another 40 centimetres was expected to fall at the ski resort on Sunday.
The Queen's Birthday long weekend is also expected to deliver for skiers and snowboarders, with another 50-centimetres predicted before then.
Perisher general manager Belinda Trembath said conditions were just too good to wait until the long weekend to open. Lifts at Perisher opened at midday on Friday.
"We've had 60 centimetres of natural snow [and] amazing snowmaking conditions throughout the week. The guns literally haven't stopped," she said.
"We bought the opening forward ... which is super exciting for everybody.
"Looking ahead to next week, we've got another metre of snow forecast, so you know, conditions are just looking wonderful for that official opening weekend where we could have up to 1.6 metres."
Strong winds hit parts of ACT and southern NSW on Sunday and the Bureau of Meteorology issued a severe warning for damaging winds.
The bureau warned of damaging winds and blizzard conditions over alpine areas and damaging winds extending to southern NSW ranges.
Damaging winds averaging 60km/h to 70km/h, with peaks of 90km/h, were expected across the area on Sunday, with conditions likely to continue into Monday.
It is expected to be another cold week in Canberra, with temperatures forecast to remain in single-digits on Monday and Tuesday. Both days have a predicted high of only 9 degrees.
But it expected to feel even colder due to the wind.
"A lot of the cold is going to be due to the wind chill as well, if you didn't have the winds it wouldn't feel so cold," Bureau meteorologist Stephen Stefanac said.
"It could be 9 or 10 degrees but with the windchill it's going to feel more like zero degrees ... it's going to feel colder than the actual temperature.
"I think puffer jackets might be on."
Winds are expected to ease after Tuesday but temperatures will remain low, with morning frosts predicted across Canberra on Wednesday and Thursday.
The cold blast has been caused by a front that was travelling across southern Australia, it was expected to hit Canberra on Sunday evening. More cold fronts will be hitting the capital throughout the week.
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