About 50cm of snow had been forecast to fall yesterday in some areas, with more than 10cm of rain expected in others, the New South Wales state emergency service said.

Conditions were easing today.

Parts of the state’s New England North West region received their deepest snow in 20 years, state broadcaster Australian Broadcasting Corp reported, while the Sydney Morning Herald said an area of the neighbouring state of Queensland had its first snow in 10 years.

The emergency service said it had responded to more than 1,455 incidents and more than 100 vehicles had been stranded by snow, adding that storms had damaged buildings and it had issued several major flood warnings.

Tens of thousands of homes spent the night without power, the ABC said.

Police in New South Wales, Australia’s most populous state, said a car had become stuck in floodwater yesterday evening and a female passenger in her 20s was swept away.

The search was continuing today, they said.