THE region has welcomed the biggest snowfall in more than 30 years, closing roads yesterday, delaying aircraft and creating a mini-tourist boom.
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While the snow and ice turned country areas into winter wonderlands, it closed the New England Highway between Bendemeer and Glen Innes, the Oxley Highway between Bendemeer and Walcha and a host of smaller roads.
Businesses in Walcha, Glen Innes, Tenterfield and Nundle welcomed the influx of visitors, many of whom stayed overnight to enjoy the alpine delights.
Don’t put away your thermals yet, though, with the Bureau of Meteorology predicting the Antarctic conditions to return on Thursday and Friday.
Air passengers in and out of Armidale were delayed by snow and ice on the runway, closing the airport early yesterday.
But, snow business was big business in Glen Innes and Walcha.
Glen Innes’s Rest Point Motor Inn Owner John McCluskey said he had turned away about 60 inquiries on Saturday night alone.
“Snow’s great for business,” he said. “As a result of the inclement conditions, we’ve got about 15 in and had a full house (Friday, Saturday and Sunday). We turned away about 60 different inquiries on Saturday and about 20-30 on Sunday.”
Mr McCluskey said he had been in Glen Innes for four years and had not seen as much snow.
Walcha Motel owner Andy Wright said he’d had close to full houses on Saturday and Sunday.
“We’ve had two who decided to stay for another night, but with the bad weather, it’s affecting regular travellers and workers,” he said.
“Sunday and Monday the town was busy. It’s attracting families with kids who want to see the snow, but detrimental in other ways for those who decide not to travel.”
Mr Wright said winter was the quiet time for the town, along with December, with the first five months of the year their busiest.
Walcha Shire Council mayor Janelle Archdale said it was the biggest snowfall she had seen in the more than 30 years she had lived in the district.
“There were 12 inches of snow at Riamukka and power outages out that way,” she said.
“Over the weekend, the town was packed with people everywhere. It was very exciting to wake up this morning and see it was triple as thick as it was yesterday.
“It would have been six inches thick on out on the front lawn.”
She said the town’s Catholic school, St Patrick’s, was down a few students as they couldn’t get to school through the snow and ice.
Tenterfield Shire mayor Peter Petty said television show Sunrise was broadcast from Mount Mackenzie, where it was snowing, causing traffic jams.
“I don’t think we’ve seen the worst of it yet,” he said.
“It brought a lot of people to town at the weekend – I wish it snowed every second weekend.”
Cr Petty said he’d had phone calls from interstate and metropolitan media and said it was a good opportunity to share the story of how unique Tenterfield was.
Up at Hanging Rock, Marcia Ajani said it was the most snow she had seen since 1984, with five to six inches, compared to the 16 to 18 inches they’d had 31 years ago.
“It was like Pitt St, Sydney, on Sunday with people coming up the hill – there were cars, one after the other,” she said.