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Australians living in the country’s southeast can officially say goodbye to summer as a bitter cold front passes through them, bringing cold conditions and torrential rain.
Meteorologists have warned of a forecast of a “south wind” blowing up the New South Wales coast on Wednesday.
The sudden change in wind will cause gusts exceeding 55 km/hour and a drop in temperature of around 5°C to 10°C.
Temperatures are expected to be 10°C to 12°C below average in parts of Victoria and New South Wales, while thunderstorms bringing up to 60mm of rain are also possible over the coming days.
Melbourne is expected to reach just 17C by midday on Wednesday, while Hobart is expected to reach a maximum of 15C by then, said Angus Hines of the Bureau of Meteorology.
Thunderstorms are forecast across southeastern Australia over the next few days, bringing up to 60mm of rain.
“We’re down 10 or 12 degrees from Tuesday’s high temperatures,” he said.
Tasmania’s high peaks could even see snow falling on Wednesday at around 800m altitude.
“This is a sure sign that we are moving away from summer and moving deeper into fall over the next few days,” he said.
Mr Hines said the southern fighter was going to come away with “a hell of a punch” on Wednesday afternoon with Sydney in the line of fire.
“We are looking at a strong gust of cold winds across this coastline, could be a gale across these coastal waters, as well as a line of rain and possible thunderstorms moving across NSW on Wednesday afternoon and evening,” he said.
Even heavier rain is expected to deluge northern Australia on Wednesday as Tropical Cyclone Megan wreaks havoc.
Sydney is expected to face southerly winds between 2:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, with wind gusts of 70 to 90 km/hour forecast, according to Weatherzone.
Strong winds will also bring large swells to the Sydney coast and south coast.
Waves could reach up to 3.5m in Sydney, with swells of up to 5m further south.
Mr Hines said widespread rainfall of 10mm to 25mm was possible across Tasmania, Victoria and NSW, but thunderstorms could see isolated areas reach up to 50mm to 60mm.
Meteorologists have warned that widespread rainfall of 10mm to 25mm is possible across Tasmania, Victoria and NSW, but thunderstorms could see isolated areas reach up to 50mm to 60mm (stock image)
Sydneysiders can expect rain on Wednesday with forecasts of up to 9mm and maximum temperatures of 27C.
Melbourne will be partly cloudy on Wednesday with a maximum temperature of just 18°C, while Canberra will see sunshine and a maximum temperature of 24°C.
Hobart will also experience a cool Wednesday with a predicted maximum temperature of 17C.
It comes amid Tropical Cyclone Megan wreaking havoc across the Top End and North Queensland.
The cyclone made landfall on the southwest side of the Gulf of Carpentaria Monday evening as a severe Category 3 system.
Borroloola, in the Northern Territory, was in the crosshairs with the town’s 700 residents on alert to evacuate on Monday.
Cyclone Megan moved faster than expected, bringing winds of up to 200km/h and 300mm of rain, preventing RAAF planes from landing.
Instead, stranded residents were ordered to hunker down at the local police station, the town health center or one of dozens of homes capable of weathering the storm.