It was a freezing start to the working week, with temperatures dipping to a chilly minus 1.8 degrees overnight in Canberra and minus 2.3 degrees in Tuggeranong.

But Monday's cool start was not as freezing as the weekend, when the mercury dropped to minus 3.9 degrees on Sunday morning.

Cooma took out top honours for the coldest place in NSW with temperatures dipping to a low of minus 9.7 degrees at the airport on Monday morning.

Bureau of Meteorology spokesman David Barlow said it was not unseasonably cold in Canberra this time of the year, with temperatures failing to break the record set in May 1976 of minus 7.5 degrees.

Last year's coldest May day saw temperatures dip to minus 5.8 degrees.

By mid-morning on Monday, the thick fog which earlier blanketed Canberra had given way to clear skies as temperatures climbed to a forecasted 15 degrees.

The thick fog saw visibility reduced to just 300 metres, Mr Barlow said.

Getting out of bed is going to get a lot harder this week, with Canberra bracing for a string of frosty starts.

Tuesday is expected to be cloudy, with temperatures reaching a low of zero and a high of 15, while Wednesday will be slightly warmer with a minimum of four degrees and a top of 15. There is a 50 per cent chance of showers on Wednesday.

The end of autumn also means The Canberra Times autumn photo competition is rapidly drawing to a close, with entries shutting on Tuesday.

Photographers are invited to submit their best autumn photos for the chance to win a share of $1000 in prizes, as well as have their work published.

To enter, send a maximum of three photos to photocomp@canberratimes.com.au as attached JPEG files and include your name, address, phone number, photo title, a description of the photo and the date it was taken.

Photos must be at least 150 kilobytes and should not carry a watermark.