Why it's unlikely to snow in the Southern Highlands this week

But despite the temperature in Albion Park feeling like it's -3 degrees, it's unlikely snow will fall anywhere near the region - or even the Southern Highlands - anytime soon, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

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The Bureau's Neale Fraser said parts of the NSW Central Tablelands might wake up to snow on Wednesday morning, with falls expected above 900 metres on Tuesday night.

For those hoping to make snowmen in Bowral or Moss Vale, he said snow would need to fall as low as 600 metres, while it was a very rare occurrence to fall at sea level where the Illawarra sat.

"Quite often in winter the temperature near the ground drops below freezing but the air mass above is warmer, so you need the whole air mass to be cold to generate snow not just near the ground," Mr Fraser said.

"I remember one time in Sydney it was snowing up in the Northern Suburbs where the elevation is up to bout 150 metres above sea level ... that was about 20 years ago. It's a very rare occurrence, but it was too warm and melted straight away."

Even if you did wake up to -5 degrees, Mr Fraser said it still could be unlikely to see snow as "you get strong inversions during winter" - where the ground temperature is cold but a few thousand feet up is far warmer.

This week, the Bureau forecasts top temperatures of 15 and 16 for Albion Park and Wollongong, though the latter could drop down to as low as 5 or 6 degrees overnight.

Wollongong, however, is set to drop to 8 or 9 degrees - though the "apparent temperature" can often feel a lot colder, and seem like it's subzero.

"The stronger the wind and the drier the air, the colder it generally feels," the meteorologist said.

The Bureau's website explains humans have a layer of warmer air around their body that can insulate you from cooler surrounding air; but wind strips this layer away and allows people to feel more of the cold.

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Meantime for the Snowy Mountains, the snow current conditions are being touted as the best in more than 20 years, with Thredbo preparing for a huge opening weekend after 125cm of snow fell over the past seven days.

Snow was still falling at Thredbo on Tuesday afternoon, with the village described as "looking picture perfect" after some 40cm of coverage.

Nearby resorts Perisher, Charlotte Pass and Selwyn were also being blanketed in soft, white powder.

Thredbo's mountain operations teams have been working long hours in preparation for the opening weekend, which will be celebrated with an illumination show and fireworks on Saturday night, June 11.

All sides of the mountain are expected to be open and linked via the Catwalk and Sundowner trails.

Australia's longest run at 3.7km, the Thredbo Supertrail will be groomed and ready for skiing and boarding, with access off Kosciuszko chairlift. Friday Flat also has a great coverage for beginners.

"We're all very excited up here, it's been snowing for a week and it's still coming down," Thredbo's marketing manager Caroline Brauer said.

"We believe this is the best start to the snow season since the year 2000 but if it keeps on snowing, then this could break even more records."

Roads to the village have been kept open and clear but visitors will be cautioned to ensure they bring chains for their vehicle - and know how to fit them if instructed to do so.

Lift tickets for the weekend were still available online via the Thredbo site on Tuesday but are selling fast. The resort caps the number of lift tickets sold. A one-day adult lift pass for the opening day at Thredbo is priced at $179.

Across at Perisher, there has been 60cm of snow fall on the resort since Monday.

The big falls of early season snow encouraged Perisher to open early on June 4. Four lifts leading to groomed runs are currently in operation, depending on weather conditions.

On Tuesday, it was -3.4 degrees in the village at Perisher. Road conditions up to the Perisher carpark have been described as very challenging and chains are compulsory.

The skitube alpine railway will open this Friday for the first time this season.

To celebrate the long weekend and the opening of the full resort, Perisher is staging the Peak Music Festival with more than a dozen artists, with shows at Smiggins, the Jax Bar, the Eiger and the Man from Snowy River on Friday, Saturday, Sunday.

An adult day lift ticket at Perisher on Saturday was listed online at $184.

Mt Selwyn, with completely new infrastructure installed since the Black Summer bushfires destroyed the buildings and lifts, will reopen on July 2.

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