AN icy blast hit the region on Friday with temperatures plummeting, winds roaring and snow dusting the local mountains.

The weekend started with strong winds on Friday morning causing trees to fall in Bright.

One tree took down the power line across Great Alpine Road at Apex Park.

A brief hail storm hit the valley on Friday afternoon while snow fell on the ranges across Mount Hotham, Falls Creek and Mount Feathertop, delighting and surprising visitors.

Mount Hotham recorded an unseasonable low of minus 2.6 degrees C overnight on Friday.

The temperature didn’t reach far above 10 degrees until later on Saturday morning, meaning visitors to Bright’s Make It, Bake It, Grow It market needed to wrap up in extra layers as they browsed the stalls under the trees in Howitt Park.

While the cold chill didn’t last, the mercury isn’t forecast to reach above 30 degrees again in Bright until Saturday.