Meteorologists have warned that the imminent double blast of Antarctic air set to cross southern Australia will banish the “last of the warm weather” from many states and set the tone for winter.
Temperatures are set to plunge from tomorrow onwards for Tasmania and Victoria and southern areas of South Australia and New South Wales. Large areas could see temperatures well below freezing with hail likely as well as snow at low levels.
Two cold fronts are sweeping across the south of Australia, one coming through overnight and into Friday and a second on Sunday, which will be harder still. Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) senior forecaster Michael Efron said that was the end for the mild conditions. “This burst of cold air means it’s the last of the warm weather we’ll see across Melbourne.”
Matthew Thomas, also from the Bureau, told the Herald Sun the transition to winter was about to get underway. But there was something unusual about the frosty turn. “It’s not an unexpected occurrence, but we don’t necessarily call these abrupt changes all that often. It’s the transient nature of this one that’s most significant.
“It’s going to bring some very, very cold temperatures. We’re likely to see some snow in Alpine areas,” he added. Alison Osborne, a meteorologist with Sky News Weather, said that the change would be sudden, with Melbourne going from a high of 30C to barely half that on Friday.
“These will be some of the coldest temperatures we’ve seen this year,” she said. “With maximum temperatures in the mid to low teens, it will be the coldest weather so far this year.
Getting colder and colder in southern states
In New South Wales, it will remain warm in Sydney for the next couple of days, with a high of 29C on Friday and an odd spell of rain. But the mercury is set to fall with a maximum of 25C on Saturday and then only just getting into the 20s on Monday with a minimum of a mere 11C.
