A major cold front will bring freezing temperatures, strong winds and rain to large parts of Australia.
Severe weather warnings are in force for parts of southeastern Australia, with damaging winds expected to continue on Tuesday and Wednesday.
A seasonal cold front is forecast to move through southeastern Australia during the second week of winter. This front will move north towards Sydney on Wednesday, with winds of over 100 km/h hitting Tasmania and Victoria on Tuesday.
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued severe weather warnings for damaging winds in the northern and western parts of Tasmania and surrounding islands, as well as for the northern and northeastern mountains of Victoria, Gippsland and the Mornington Peninsula, and the mountain ranges in New South Wales .
Severe weather warnings are in force for parts of southeastern Australia, with damaging winds expected to continue on Tuesday and Wednesday
“In all these places, wind speeds could exceed 90 to 100 km/h,” said Angus Hines, senior meteorologist at the Bureau of Meteorology.
‘But around some of those mountains a speed of 120 to 130 kilometers per hour with the strongest wind gusts is not excluded.
‘That is strong enough to down trees and branches, potentially cause power outages, damage property and create dangerous driving conditions, especially in tall vehicles such as caravans and on motorcycles.’
Rain will also hit southeastern Australia, with hail forecast for Tuesday evening and Wednesday in Tasmania and the south coast of Victoria.
Areas of south-eastern South Australia should also be on the lookout for storm warnings, and sheep grazers have been warned by the Bureau of Meteorology. Warnings have been issued that there is a risk of loss of lambs and sheep if they are exposed to the cold, rain showers and strong north-westerly winds.
On Monday evening, wintry cold combined with strong winds caused apparent temperatures in central and eastern Tasmania to fall below freezing.
Melburnians woke up to strong winds and rain on Tuesday, with Melbourne Airport recording -0.5C on the ‘feels like’ readout with gusts of 72km/h.
Victoria and NSW are expected to be hardest hit by the cold front on Tuesday and Wednesday, Weatherzone reported.
The cold front will bring significant snowfall to the Alpine resorts after a less than favorable climatic opening to the ski season, with the Bureau of Meteorology predicting 5 to 20cm.
This week’s strong cold front follows a week of heavy rainfall in south-west Western Australia and south-eastern NSW.
Weekly rainfall totals exceeded 100mm and there were isolated totals of more than 200mm in the Illawarra district of NSW, while parts of the Central West and Gascoyne districts of Western Australia recorded weekly totals of more than 100mm.
Rain is expected in southeastern Australia, with hail forecast for Tuesday evening and Wednesday in Tasmania and the south coast of Victoria
Sydney
Sydney’s mostly sunny morning will develop into rain during the day on Wednesday, with an average chance of afternoon showers along the coast and winds up to 45 km/h.
Elsewhere in the city there is a small chance of showers.
The forecast is also cloudy on Thursday, with a small chance of showers along the coast, most likely from late in the morning.
Elsewhere, the chance of rain is virtually nil and temperatures are expected to drop to 9 degrees Celsius.
Further showers are forecast for Friday and Saturday, ahead of a sunny Sunday.
Melbourne
Melbourne has an average chance of showers on Wednesday, with the chance of rain decreasing in the early afternoon.
Thursday will also look gray with a moderate chance of showers.
Temperatures in the city will drop steadily with a low of 8 degrees on Thursday, followed by 6 degrees on Friday, 5 degrees on Saturday and 4 degrees on Sunday.
Skies over Melbourne are expected to remain partly cloudy before possible showers from Sunday.
The weather forecast follows a cold and wintry Tuesday Weather zoneAnthony Sharwood explains that strong winds made the cold worse.
“Melbourne is just one place that feels decidedly wintry, even if the temperatures aren’t particularly low,” he said.
‘Indeed, Melbourne has already exceeded its June average high of 14.1 degrees Celsius, with a temperature of 14.7 degrees Celsius just after midday and a forecast high of 16 degrees Celsius.
‘But if we take into account the wind chill, the frequent showers and the apparent (or ‘feels like’) temperatures of only 10 or 11 degrees, it is certainly [didn’t] it feels like a warmer than average winter day.”
A seasonal cold front is forecast to pass through southeastern Australia during the second week of winter, moving north towards Sydney on Wednesday
Brisbane
Brisbane is set for a warm and sunny Wednesday with a high of 24 degrees Celsius and clear skies.
Sunshine is expected to continue until the end of the week, with Saturday being the only day when some light cloud is expected.
From Thursday, temperatures in the city will become slightly cooler, with maximum temperatures around 20 degrees Celsius.
Perth
Perth has a very high chance of showers on Wednesday, with chances decreasing in the evening.
The rainy weather will partly clear on Thursday, ahead of a sunny Friday.
Clouds will move over the city on Saturday and there is a good chance of showers on Sunday.
High temperatures are expected to remain around 20 degrees Celsius.
Adelaide
The gray skies over Adelaide are expected to develop into showers from Thursday.
There is a good chance of showers and light winds on Thursday, while there is a very good chance of showers on Friday.
The showers are expected to continue on Saturday and largely clear on Sunday.
Hobart
Hobart will see showers until next week.
There is an average chance of showers on Wednesday, followed by a slight easing on Thursday.
There is a moderate chance of showers on Friday, most likely in the morning, followed by rain over the weekend.
Temperatures in the city remain fairly low with highs of 11ºC and 12ºC and lows of 6ºC and 8ºC.
Canberra
There will be an average chance of showers in Canberra on Wednesday morning, with rain clearing in the afternoon.
The next few days will feel particularly wintery with freezing temperatures, morning frost and cloudy conditions.
Wednesday and Friday are expected to be the capital’s hottest days, with a high of 13 degrees Celsius for both.
Severe weather warnings are in place for damaging winds in the northern and western parts of Tasmania and surrounding islands, as well as for the northern and north-eastern mountains of Victoria, Gippsland and the Mornington Peninsula, and the mountain ranges in NSW.
Darwin
Darwin is the place to be this week for those who hate the cold.
The Northern Territory’s capital will see sunny conditions until the end of the week.
High temperatures are expected to remain around 30 degrees Celsius.
