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Snow falls in Victoria and Tasmania as blast of cold weather arrives in south-east Australia

Patrick Keneally
·3 min read

People in many parts of Victoria and Tasmania woke up to a snow-covered landscape on Tuesday morning as a low pressure system brings a blast of cold air to south-east Australia.

Social media users shared pictures of snowfall across regional Victoria, including several areas including Ballarat, Colac and the Otway, Strzelecki and Dandenong ranges, as well as Tasmania, as snow continues to fall as low as 100 metres.

Diana Eadie from the Bureau of Meteorology says the wintery blast will extend across the south-east with strong winds, frost, hail and snow at low altitudes.

“A complex low pressure system will move to the east and then to the south of Tasmania extending a cold front and numerous troughs over south-east Australia.”

“Icy southerly winds will follow with temperatures plunging to 2C to 8C below average on Tuesday and Wednesday.

“Maximum temperatures in the single digits are forecast for parts of Tasmania and Victoria, southern New South Wales and the ACT.”

Melbourne faces its coldest four days in 24 years, according to Weatherzone, and will have to wait until the weekend before temperatures climb back to about 14C.

Eadie said there could be snowfall in the hills around Canberra, the Dandenong Ranges, Mt Macedon and Ballarat. Hobart has also seen snow falling on Mount Wellington and snowboarders have ventured up on the roads.

With single-digit highs and strong southerly winds, the wind chill factor will make it feel even colder for those brave enough to venture out.

“Stay safe and stay warm,” Eadie said.

The low pressure system will intensify as it moves further east, bringing damaging winds to the east coast of Tasmania on Tuesday and eastern Victoria and southern NSW on Wednesday, Eadie said.

While Sydney will escape the worst of the weather front approaching from the south, it would still be unusually cold with strong southerly winds on Wednesday.

Related: July rainfall across Australia dips to 43% below average, BoM reports

Elsewhere in NSW, there’s a strong wind warning on Tuesday for the Illawarra and Eden that will be upgraded on Wednesday to a gale warning for Eden and strong wind warning for Sydney, the Illawarra and Batemans Bay.

Ski resorts are expected to receive some of the best snow falls of the season but blizzard conditions combined with very strong gusty winds and bitterly cold temperatures will limit their operations. Perisher recorded 5cm of snow overnight and is forecasting another 15cm for Tuesday.