With the first dusting of snow predicted over the coming days, prospective visitors to Barrington Tops are being reminded not to attempt to use Barrington Tops Forest Road due to major structural damage that has forced the road's closure.
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The damage sustained during the March floods has forced the ongoing closure of the access road to Barrington Tops from the Gloucester gateway due to the high risk that the road might collapse.
A cold blast is heading for the Mid North Coast with snow predicted inland on the western ranges and central and northern tablelands.
The forecast will be mild until Wednesday with rain predicted followed by a drop in temperature overnight.
Thursday will be a brisk 16 degrees Celsius after an overnight low of 7 with the cool mornings to persist through until the weekend.
Further down the coast the cold front will keep temperatures as low as 14 at Taree and 13 at Gloucester on Thursday with a strong snow prediction for Barrington Tops.
The mercury will plummet at the Tops on Wednesday (June 9) with daytime temperatures not expected to rise above zero with -2 degrees overnight. Snow showers are expected into Thursday.
Snow is also predicted for Walcha with overnight temperatures on Thursday to drop to -3 degrees.
Bureau of Meteorology spokesperson Sarah Scully said the strong cold front will impact most eastern parts of the State from Tuesday night (June 8).
Forestry Corporation of NSW is working on getting the Barrington Tops Forest Road repaired as quickly as possible as it's the only access road to the State forests and national parks from the east coast and is also used as an alternative access route between Gloucester and Scone.
Senior Manager Forest Stewardship, Kathy Lyons said that Forestry Corp is working as quickly as possible to assess and develop a repair program for the road.
"We will commence repairs as soon as possible, but early indications suggest significant works are required to repair the damage.
"In the short term, the road is at high risk of collapse, so it has been closed with physical barriers to protect the community's safety," Ms Lyons said.
Snow chasers and visitors to the region are being warned to avoid attempting to access Barrington Tops via Barrington Tops Forest Road and to adhere to all road closures, signs and barriers.
Road closures are listed on the Forestry Corporation website at www.forestrycorporation.com.au as well as Live Traffic NSW and on signs in the forest.
