1h agoSat 2 Aug 2025 at 7:41amHere are the current road closures
So far, the following highways are closed due to flooding:
Kamilaroi Highway between Breeza and CurlewisWakehurst Parkway from North Narrabeen to Oxford Falls
Meanwhile, these roads remain closed due to snow and ice:
New England Highway between Moonbi and BendemeerNew England Highway between Kentucky and UrallaNew England Highway between Armidale and Glen InnesOxley Highway from Bendemeer to WalchaWaterfall Way between Ebor and Armidale
Buses are replacing trains between Scone, Dungog and Newcastle Interchange on the Hunter Line.
Trains are not running on the Hunter Line due to flooding at Sandgate.
You can get the latest traffic information here.
Road closures across New England, NSW are now in pace as snow continues to fall. (ABC New England North West: Liana Boss)
19m agoSat 2 Aug 2025 at 8:35am
Snow fall in Armidale
Andrew Gillespie has taken these images of snow fall at North Hill in Armidale.
It’s Australia’s highest city below the official snow line at an elevation of almost 1,000 metres above sea level.
27m agoSat 2 Aug 2025 at 8:27amWatch and Act warnings in place across NSW
These Watch and Act warnings are currently in place across NSW:
There are also 27 advice warnings in place across the state.
You can see all the alerts on the Hazard Watch page.
42m agoSat 2 Aug 2025 at 8:12amWatch for ‘black ice’ on roads
North Western SES zone commander Stuart Fisher urged motorists to take care even as the temperature changes.
“As the temperature starts to change, we do get black ice and [drivers] need to be very, very careful,” he said.
What is ‘black ice’, you ask?
Black ice is a thin, transparent layer of ice that forms on roads, allowing the dark surface beneath to remain visible.
53m agoSat 2 Aug 2025 at 8:01amMore than 32,000 homes and businesses without power
We’re hearing from Essential Energy that more than 32,000 homes and businesses across the Mid North Coast and New England are experiencing power outages at the moment.
They say this is because strong winds and fallen vegetation have caused damage to powerlines and parts of the electricity network.
The most heavily impacted areas are along the coast between Macksville and Camden Haven and inland between Armidale and Walcha.
They’re reminded people to stay at least 8 metres away from fallen powerlines, power poles and damaged electricity equipment, or 150 metres if any part of the electricity network is covered in floodwaters.
You can keep up to date with any outages here.
56m agoSat 2 Aug 2025 at 7:58am
Damaging wind gusts of around 90 km/h are possible
The NSW SES advises the following if you encounter strong wind gusts:
Avoid unnecessary travel, move indoors, bring children and pets with youPark your car under secure cover and away from trees, powerlines and drainsIf safe to do so, secure or put away items, such as outdoor furniture, trampolines and roofing iron that could blow around in strong windsGrab your emergency kit in case you lose power or need to leave your home
58m agoSat 2 Aug 2025 at 7:56am
If you’re in these areas, monitor conditions
The NSW SES advises people in the following areas to monitor conditions for forecast heavy rainfall, damaging winds:
Coffs HarbourTareeNewcastlePort MacquarieSconeKempseyMaitlandSawtellDorrigoCabramurra1h agoSat 2 Aug 2025 at 7:50amNSW SES advises against all non-essential travel
NSW SES Dorrigo Unit responds to a call-out. (Supplied: NSW SES)
The NSW SES is advising people to stay near shelter and avoid all non-essential travel.
They say they’re currently responding to reports of up to 100 vehicles stuck in snow.
This includes vehicles stranded on the New England Highway, Waterfall Way, Norris Drive and Grafton Road.
They’ve urged people to avoid the area and monitor conditions.
Across the Mid North Coast, wild winds have ripped roofs off buildings, including at Kempsey High School.
Incident controller Superintendent Dylan Whitelaw earlier urged residents to stay calm.
“We want the community to be alert and not alarmed,” he said.
“What we are expecting is not similar to what we saw in May of this year, when we saw widespread record-breaking floods across the Mid North Coast.”
1h agoSat 2 Aug 2025 at 7:39am
Snow causes chaos in New England North West
We’ve been hearing from residents today who are stranded because of the snow.
Geraldine Fenn is stuck on a bus with 26 other people on the New England Highway.
“We were travelling up a hill, but we were unable to progress and the bus lost traction,” Ms Fenn told the ABC.
“We have been here for four hours.
“There have been lots of fallen trees, and there have been car accidents.”
You can read more in our wrap here:
1h agoSat 2 Aug 2025 at 7:35am
Welcome to the live blog
Good evening, my name is Charmayne Allison — I’m here to keep you up to date with heavy snowfalls in New England North West.
The SES says it’s never seen snow at these depths in the region, with reports up to 200 vehicles are stuck.
Snowfalls of up to 50cm are expected across the area on Saturday and into Sunday, and severe weather warnings have been issued.
You can follow along here, as we bring you the latest updates.