IF you needed an extra blanket this morning there's a good reason for that.
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Port Macquarie shivered through a -0.8 degree start to May 29, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
Milder mornings are expected for the rest of the week with average daytime temperatures of 19-20 degrees ahead of possible showers for the weekend.
Temperatures across NSW plummeted as a cold front brings gusty winds from the south where snow has fallen.
Snow chasers at Barrington Tops are keeping their eyes on the sky but suspect the absence of good moisture in the air will keep the snowflakes at bay for a little longer.
BoM has predicted the cold front moving north from the southern ocean will continue to bring a very cool and gusty change for at least the next two days.
On the rainfall front, the BoM predicts winter is likely to be drier than average for much of Queensland, NSW, Victoria, southeast SA, northern Tasmania, the NT, and northern and far southwest WA.
Because of warmer ocean temperatures, El Nino is likely to persist with large parts of Australia likely to see below average rainfall this winter and warmer than average days.
Long-term drought conditions are expected to continue in many parts of the country. Water storages continue to fall, particularly in the Murray-Darling Basin, where storage levels are now below nine per cent.
Due to low river levels, Port Macquarie-Hastings Council has not extracted water from the Hastings River since December 9, 2018. The region is now relying on stored water at Port Macquarie and Cowarra Dams which currently have a combined storage sitting at 59.7 per cent.
The introduction of restrictions came off the back of one of the Hastings' driest summers on record.
The last time Level 1 water restrictions were in place was between January and April 2017.
Restrictions for residential outdoors include:
- Hand held hoses can be used for 1 hour every second day, before 9am or after 4pm on odd or even days matching house numbers.
- Sprinklers and unattended hoses are banned.
- Cars and boats are to be washed on the lawn only, before 9am or after 4pm with a bucket and hand-held hose for rinsing on the house' allocated day
- Watering cans and buckets can be used at any time
- Reclaimed water can continue to be used at any time