Ballarat has officially welcomed in winter with a gentle blanket of snow on Friday.

Alas for snow-lovers, the wintery paradise won’t last long, with Saturday temperatures expected to be much more moderate.

Snow fell across the city from about 11am Friday, with residents sighted frolicking among the rare phenomenon.

Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Keris Arndt said the snow was caused by a “very strong cold” that had brought cold air to the west.

He said the temperature had hovered around 2°C for most of the day, with the bureau receiving “plenty of reports” of snow.

He said Ballarat dropped to 1.5°C on Friday morning at 4.57am.

Mr Arndt said Saturday would bring a high of 10°C.

2.30PM: Still no more snow but the temperature still sits at a steady 2.6 degrees. The warmest moment for the day so far was 4.0 degrees at 11.27am.

2PM: The snow has stopped at the sun is out!

The snow has failed to set on the ground in most places, but has still made for some spectacular photos (see above).

The temperature fell to 1.7 degrees at 1.53pm and was back at 2.2 degrees at 2pm.

1.30PM: There has just been another fresh downpour in the city.

Solid rain before hand means the snow is not settling as yet.

1PM: The snow has disappeared, for now.

However, it is still bitterly cold at just 2.5 degrees as many people brave the elements to get some lunch.

12.38PM: It’s only been a light sprinkling so far and no wonder – at 12.30pm the temperature was just 1.8 degrees.

12.25PM: We are hearing reports of snow throughout Ballarat!

Lucas, Creswick, Warrenheip  – we are hearing reports from everywhere.

12.06PM: Hayden Bladier sent us this photo from Cardigan Village at midday, when the temperature was just 2.1 degrees.

At 11.52am, the ‘feels like’ temperature hit its lowest at -4.9

11.20AM: Shaun Kaiser sent us this photo from Mollongghip.

The mercury cracked four degrees at 11.10am, but still feels like -3.6

11.01AM: This photo was sent in to us from Facebook user Zara Micich at Mount Buninyong.

10.30AM: The temperature is still falling. It’s fallen from 3.5 to 3.2 degrees in the last hour.

10.02AM: It’s only light, but there is snow at Kryal Castle. Check out the video here.

9.55AM: There are reports of snow in the Otways, but nothing in Ballarat as yet.

9AM: It’s getting colder! While the mercury is hovering at 3.3 degrees, it now feels like -2.7 degrees, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

Weatherzone has forecast snow will fall to 500 metres this afternoon.

For those wondering how high we are, we’ve pulled together some of Ballarat and district’s highest points, according to Bonzle.com.

Mt Buninyong – 754m.

Mt Warrenheip – 746m.

Leonard’s Hill (near Daylesford) – 740m.

Clarkes Hill – 718m.

Mt Misery (near Beaufort) – 686m.

Daylesford – 576m.

Gordon – 564m.

Ballarat – 423m.

REMEMBER THE LAST TIME IT SNOWED IN BALLARAT ON JULY 31, 2014?

8.30AM: Now at 3.3 degrees – the battle is real. 

And to make it worse, the ‘feels like’ is dropping. That reading now sits at -1.8 degrees.

What does the ‘feels like’ temperature mean?

The ‘feels like’ temperature is measured by taking into account the expected air temperature, relative humidity and the strength of the wind at around five feet (the typical height of an human face).

8AM: There we go, 3.0 degrees! But it certainly doesn’t feel any warmer – that reading is back down to -1.4 degrees.

7.30AM: We’ve almost cracked three degrees, sitting at 2.8. Think it still feels freezing though?

The ‘feels like’ reading is still in the negatives at -0.8.

7AM: Back down to 2.4 degrees. Aren’t days meant to get warmer as the morning breaks? 

Still feels like an arctic -1.3.

6AM: We’ve climbed to 2.5 degrees! It still feels like -2.3, however.

5AM: The coldest point of the night at 1.7 degrees.

That’s not ridiculously cold for a Ballarat night, but the applied temperature (commonly known as the ‘feels like’ reading) sits at -2.5.

Allow some extra time to scrape the ice off the car Friday morning. 

Ballarat will see a return to the almost-freezing weather we had earlier in the month, with a run of minimum temperatures hovering around zero for the next few days. 

The Bureau of Meteorology has said there could be snow down to 500 metres further west in the region on Friday, so make sure to keep an eye out. 

But there will also be servings of wind and rain, said Weatherzone meteorologist Guy Dixon. 

“There will be showers and gusting westerly winds, so it could feel closer to two degrees,” he said. 

Ballarat’s weather has been relatively mild over the last week – with lows over five degrees - but Friday will mark a return to the chill that makes it so much harder to get out of bed in the morning. 

Mr Dixon said Saturday would still be cold, with a forecast maximum of nine degrees, but without the pelting rain of Friday.