The area around Blackheath contains some of the most spectacular views in the Blue Mountains, including those over the Grose Valley from Evans Lookout and Govetts Leap in the east, and the lesser-known vista of the Megalong Valley from Hargraves Lookout in the west, past the tiny hamlet of Shipley.
As the highest town in the Mountains, Blackheath receives snow in winter (two settled falls per season is the average with another five to ten days of light snow showers) and even in summer the temperatures are generally mild in comparison to other locations at the same latitude. Average maximum temperature in winter is around 9�C to 10�C although some days struggle to get above 5�C or 6�C. Frosts are fairly common but not as common or strong as frosts on the Oberon Plateau or in places further west, like Bathurst and Orange. Local topography tends to keep minimum temperatures in the -3�C to 5�C range as the coldest air during radiative cooling (clear, calm nights) drains into the valleys. In summer, average maximum temperatures are around 23�C but temperatures occasionally nudge 30�C on some days during mid-summer and can also drop to the mid teens, or lower, during southerly changes or when onshore troughs persist on the east coast. Minimum temperatures in summer are typically around 10�C-15�C but minimums in single figures also occur, more commonly in December. In December 2011, a minimum of 2.4C was recorded.
Blackheath's location on a high ridge makes it vulnerable to strong and sometimes destructive winds, especially in the winter months when cold fronts surge up from the Southern Ocean, producing land gales. On 5 July 2011 a strong cold front passed over the area that produced winds that officially gusted up to 139km/h, causing many trees to be uprooted and extensive damage to some property. The Venturi Effect, where airflow is constricted by vertical cliffs and deep valleys, would likely have produced winds notably stronger than this in vulnerable
