Freak hail storm delivers rainbow and fields of white

An unexpected lashing of white has hit the town of Lismore in northern NSW this afternoon, creating wintry scenes for locals.

Video captured by former Wests and Gold Coast NRL player Scott Prince shows hail storms rapidly falling to the ground before 4pm.

As the hail arrived, temperatures in Lismore plummeted from 20C to just 15.7C in a matter of minutes.

In the aftermath of the storm, many social media users took to Instagram to share images of the impromptu winter wonderland.

It comes after the cancellation of a severe thunderstorm warning, which was earlier issued by the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) for the Northern Rivers district.

The front that has threatened to cause areas, including Lismore, this afternoon moved offshore, BoM said.

Although gloomy conditions are expected to continue tomorrow, clear skies are expected across the state on Saturday.

In Sydney, the mercury is set to reach 19C, with plenty of sunshine.

There was also hail in parts of the Blue Mountains in late afternoon.