A resident in central Tasmania has described outdoor conditions during a record low this morning as being like an industrial freezer.

The wintery blast has continued in the state, with a record low of minus 12.1 degrees Celsius recorded at Liawenee in the central highlands this morning.

It is the coldest day since records have been kept in the area and was the coldest place in the country overnight.

Perisher in New South Wales was the next coldest at minus 11.1 degrees.

The weather bureau's Lorien Martin says it is also one of Tasmania's coldest ever recorded temperatures.

"Liawenee's minimum of minus 12.2 this morning is only 0.8 degrees off the coldest temperature ever recorded in Tasmania," he said.

Liawenee, near Great Lake, used to be home to Hydro scheme workers, but now has just a police station and an inland fisheries office.

Constable Josh Partridge says the conditions are challenging.

"You walk outside and it's like walking into an industrial freezer," he said.

"With the right gear it's all good, as long as you're wrapped up warm."

By 9:00am the mercury had climbed to minus 6.8C.

Police are urging drivers to take care on the roads, with icy conditions across much of the state.

There is black ice in parts of the Derwent Valley and some roads near Great Lake are only open to four-wheel drives.