Australians are in for another cold week as a cold front will bring below-average temperatures to parts of the southeast and Western Australia, with damaging winds and thunderstorms forecast.
The front will bring icy conditions to WA on Wednesday before moving southeast later in the week.
Parts of South Australia and Melbourne will be hardest hit by the bad weather, while Sydneysiders can expect a dry but cool week ahead.
Bureau of Meteorology meteorologist Christie Johnson said south-west WA and the Pilbara region could see heavy rainfall of between 15mm and 40mm this week.
“That system is expected to be reasonably strong and will bring showers, thunderstorms, possibly even some severe thunderstorms, damaging wind gusts and fairly widespread rainfall across much of western and southern WA,” he said in a weather update on Monday.
Johnson also confirmed that Tuesday night would be freezing for much of the country.
“We’re expecting a cold night,” he said.
“We could see the risk of frost in many states overnight.”
Australians are in for another cold week as a cold front will bring below-average temperatures to Western Australia and parts of the southeast, with damaging winds and rain also in the forecast (pictured, Australian weather at 8am Tuesday)
Bureau of Meteorology meteorologist Christie Johnson talks about the new cold front arriving in WA. Image: bill of materials
He said minimum temperatures would likely drop to single digits across much of the country.
Fellow meteorologist Dean Narramore said there would be rain and gusty winds in Tasmania, Victoria and southern South Africa on Tuesday.
‘It will also snow in the alpine areas. Elsewhere it will remain dry,” he said.
Narramore said welcome rain is forecast in parts of the country as the week progresses, except for most of New South Wales, which will mostly escape the rain.
“Rain, gusty winds and cooler conditions will continue across Tasmania, Victoria and South Australia on Wednesday, with snow over alpine areas,” he said.
“Spotty showers and rain will also occur in northern and eastern Queensland as the trough deepens there.”
Widespread rain and icy conditions are also expected in WA.
“Thursday will see widespread rain, isolated thunderstorms and strong winds spreading across much of WA as the front moves east,” the forecaster said.
‘The rain will also continue in eastern Queensland and move into northeastern New South Wales.
Australians urged to bundle up for next week
“In the southeast of the country conditions will improve and a high pressure system will be installed.”
Perth will receive heavy rain this week, with up to 15mm forecast for Wednesday and 25mm for Thursday.
Rain is expected to ease in the WA capital on Friday.
Sydney is expected to miss the worst of the bad weather, with a dry and sunny week ahead.
Tuesday will see highs of 19C, while Wednesday will be warmer with a forecast high of 21C.
Those living in Melbourne are in for a colder week with a forecast high of just 15C for Tuesday and 14C for Wednesday.
Rain is expected later in the week in the Victorian capital.
Adelaide will be inundated with heavy rain this week, with up to 25mm possible on Tuesday alone.
Up to 15mm is expected on Wednesday and the rain will continue well into the weekend.
Canberra is in for a freezing week, with lows of -1C expected on Thursday and Friday, and the country’s capital will remain relatively dry and sunny.
Hobart will be mostly dry this week with maximum temperatures remaining around 10 degrees.
In the north, in Brisbane, conditions will be much warmer, with highs expected of 24°C on Wednesday and 22°C on Thursday.
Darwin will be dry and hot with temperatures remaining in the 30s.