Winter is coming: Temperatures set to drop as cold front blows in

If you live in the country’s southeast, you better brush off your winter coat.

A cold front is set to hit parts of South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and New South Wales one day before winter officially arrives.

The chill is set to kick in from Thursday, with Tasmania struggling to break 12 degrees, while Melbourne is in for a 14-degree maximum.

The cold snap is set to kick in even earlier in South Australia, with severe winds forecast on Tuesday for a large portion of the state.

Up to 10mm of rain could fall across SA on Tuesday, with satellite images showing thunderstorms moving across the state on Tuesday morning.

Scattered showers are predicted for Melbourne across the week, with similar scenes expected for Hobart and Canberra.

Sydneysiders can expect considerable cloud cover towards the end of the week, with heavy morning showers expected for Wednesday morning. Temperatures will still reach maximums in the low 20s.

Thredbo Resort spokesperson Suzie Diver said the early snowfall was a good base ahead of the ski and snowboarding season when it opens on June 9.

“It is always nice to see a bit of snow falling in the village and colder temperatures this time of year,” Ms Diver told AAP.

It is a different story for those in the west, with Perth set to remain around the low 20s for much of the week.

While the early chill suggests the south may be in for a brutal winter, the Bureau of Meteorology said that does not appear to be the case.

The Bureau of Meteorology has said the southern states were likely to have a very average winter with no major global climate drivers affecting the season.

“This lack of large-scale climate drivers means our winter is likely to be more influenced by local effects,” climatologist Dr Linden Ashcroft told News Corp.

“It also means for much of the country there is an equal chance of a drier or wetter winter apart from southwestern Western Australia where a drier season is likely.”