Springtime snow has blanketed parts of Tasmania, including in the state's centre where bushfires raged a mere week ago.
Tourists and residents at Miena in the Central Highlands woke on Thursday morning to a thick covering of snow.
"White - there's no other way to describe it. It's beautiful," Great Lake Hotel general manager Rob Morton said.
"We've had a couple of campers that had a bit of a shock overnight, but we got them into the hotel and warmed them up."
The cold front follows a wildfire that threatened shacks near Miena in late October when authorities declared the official start of the bushfire season.
But on Thursday morning temperatures at nearby Liawenee dropped below zero.
Hobart's Mt Wellington, officially known as Kunanyi/Mt Wellington, had a dusting of snow on its peak and there were also falls at Mt Field.
Bureau of Meteorology meteorologist Luke Johnson said the snow was uncommon in November.
"It certainly doesn't happen every day. But this time of year we can see it," he said.
"All it needs is a decent burst of cold air, which does happen from time to time."
Snowfall levels are expected to drop even lower from Thursday's 700m to 500m on Friday.
Supplied image of snow covering parts of the Cradle Mountain Hotel. Source: CRADLE MOUNTAIN HOTEL
"It'll be snowing down to low levels but the ground, particularly at lower elevations, will be quite warm. It's unlikely that snow will settle on anything but the higher peaks," Mr Johnston said.
A severe weather warning for damaging wind gusts of more than 100km/h is in place for the state's south.
Winds are expected to ease on Thursday night but cooler temperatures will persist into the weekend.
Hikers with baby rescued
Two people hiking with a baby in remote Tasmania spent a freezing night huddled in a tent after getting caught in the bad weather.
The trio were rescued on Thursday morning from the Overland Track at Cradle Mountain in the Central Highlands.
They were forced to bunker down when the weather turned and they were found "extremely cold and wet" but otherwise unharmed, police say.
The bushwalkers set off their emergency beacon around 7.30am and were reached about three hours later by a search party.
The temperature at Cradle Mountain dropped below zero on Wednesday night.
"It's timely to remind anyone planning on hiking to give serious consideration to weather conditions prior to setting off," Inspector Steve Jones said.
"Weather warnings are issued for safety and bushwalkers must amend their plans accordingly, including cancelling or postponing if necessary," Insp Jones said.
"Bushwalking while a weather warning is in place puts bushwalkers in danger and puts rescuers at unnecessary risk."
