Winter weather snaps into south-east Australia with vengeance
The first major cold snap of 2016 is heading to parts of Australia as an east coast low is predicted to sweep across parts of the nation.
According to the Bureau of Meteorology the ‘deep freeze’ is set to move into South Australia on Thursday before heading east to Victoria, Tasmania, the ACT, NSW and south east Queensland by Friday.
The colder conditions will bring a series of thunderstorms and hail to large parts of south-east Australia with snow predicted to fall on higher ground.
By late Thursday South Australia has a high chance of thunderstorms and even a chance of hail heading into the evening.
By Friday morning higher regions of the Mount Lofty Ranges can expect sleet or possibly snow as winds turn southerly.
Also on Friday Adelaide is expected to reach a high of 14C and won’t reach temperatures over 15C until Tuesday.
Chilly conditions are then expected to sweep through to Victoria on Friday as the cold snap heads east across Australia.
Dropping temperatures are predicted to deliver hail and snow to parts of the state.
Up to 60cms of snow is predicted at certain ski resorts in the region, which comes as a relief following a slower start to the season.
700mm of snow is forecast to fall across Victoria, with the possibility of sleet in the hills closer to Melbourne.
On Friday Melbourne will only reach a top 11C and will struggle to hit 13C until early next week.
However inland and elevated area in New South Wales and the ACT will be hit with the worst of the cold.
Huge winds have torn BluMts trees from the ground roots&all More 'weather' to come @7NewsSydney pic.twitter.com/JizcI6C0dM
— Damien Smith (@DamienSmith_7) June 22, 2016
Snow has already started to fall at Thredbo and Perisher.
A top temperature of 1C is expected on Wednesday with 15cm of snow falling over the past 24 hours at Perisher.
Sleet and snow is predicted for an elevation above 800m in the ACT, Southern Tablelands, Central Tablelands, the Hunter, Mid North Coast, North West Slopes and Plains and Northern Tablelands forecast districts beginning on Friday then continuing into the weekend.
The storm has arrived! @PerisherResort #perisher pic.twitter.com/04MEbrliQW
— Perisher Ski Resort (@PerisherResort) June 21, 2016
Another blustery morning is predicted across much of coastal NSW on Wednesday as damaging winds, forecast to gust at up to 90km/h, developed overnight Monday prompting authorities to issue a severe weather warning.
Much of the heavy rain which saturated parts of NSW and Queensland has moved on, after dumping more than 100mm of rain in parts of northern NSW.
Almost 40mm fell on some of the worst-affected areas in Sydney.
Snow as far north as Glen Innes has also been predicted, merely hours from the Queensland state border.
Towns in NSW that have snow on the forecast include Katoomba, one hour west of Sydney, Lithgow, Orange and Bathurst.
Temperatures over the weekend in Sydney are predicted to remain around 15C however the wind chill will make it feel significantly cooler.
Hobart is only expected to reach a top of 9C on Friday with snow predicted to fall across certain parts of the state.
News break – June 21