It feels like the weather news has been all about Tropical Cyclone Ilsa this week, which is rapidly downgrading from Category 5 status and is already Cat 2, according to the latest BoM advice.

But the weather has been putting on a show on the diagonally opposite corner of the country too.

Check out this fogbow which Snowy Mountains local Steve Smith captured on Friday morning on the road to Perisher and Charlotte Pass.

Image: There's some nice symmetry there with the orange roadside snow poles, which mark the side of the road during heavy winter snow cover. Source: Steve Smith.

Here's another shot of it.

Image: You can see the colour (or lack of it) from this closer pic. Source: Steve Smith.

So what is a fogbow?

• As the name suggests, it's an arch of light caused by fog rather than rain.
• Fogbows form in the same way as rainbows, with light refracted and reflected by small drops of water suspended in the air. The difference, in terms of our perception, is that fogbows are much less brightly coloured.
• Because fog droplets are much smaller than rain, they cause most of the colour to be filtered out by refraction, which gives fogbows their characteristic white glow.

Temperatures in the Snowy Mountains were chilly overnight, with min temps near zero after rain that ended just after midnight.

So the air at ground level was cool and the atmosphere was extremely moist – indeed the relative humidity was 100% this morning – making perfect conditions for fog to form. Add a few rays of sunshine as the fog started to clear and hey presto! There's your fogbow.

Rain is forecast for the Snowy Mountains this weekend, with the chance of a little snow on the highest peaks. The snow that fell over Easter has now melted, give or take a few tiny patches up high.

Image: The walk to Mt Kosciuszko from the top of Thredbo. Source: ski.com.au.