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Urgent weather warnings have been issued for five Australian states and large areas of the country could be hit by damaging winds.
Western Australia, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania are in the firing line for dangerous conditions on Wednesday, with rain also on the horizon.
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued severe weather warnings for damaging winds for south-east Australia, with wind gusts of up to 130km/h possible.
The gusts of wind are the result of one of the coldest fronts of the year moving towards the southeast.
Conditions are expected to be so bad that Victoria SES boss Tim Wiebusch issued an urgent warning to residents on Tuesday.
“Victorians need to act and prepare now for what could be the strongest weather system we have seen this winter in our state,” he said.
‘Please be sure to drive according to the conditions, and be alert on our roads for the risk of falling trees and debris that may be present over the next 36 hours.’
In New South Wales, a severe weather warning for damaging winds has been issued for Sydney, Illawarra and parts of the metropolitan, south coast, central tablelands, southern tablelands, snowy mountains and hunter forecast districts.
Urgent weather warnings have been issued for five Australian states as much of the country is set to be battered by damaging winds.
Damaging winds averaging 60 to 70 km/h are likely, with peak gusts of around 100 km/h in parts of the Blue Mountains and western Sydney.
Winds averaging 70 to 80 km/h with peak gusts of around 110 km/h are expected in the Illawarra region, easing in the early afternoon.
Similar warnings have been issued in Victoria for the forecast districts of Central, East Gippsland, South West, West and South Gippsland, and parts of North Central, North East, Wimmera and Northern Country.
Horsham, Warrnambool, Maryborough, Ballarat, Geelong, Melbourne, Traralgon and Bairnsdale are expected to be affected, with gusts of up to 110km/h.
Mount Buller in eastern Victoria recorded wind gusts of 128km/h early on Wednesday morning, while Mount Hotham recorded winds of 111km/h.
In South Australia, Mount Gambier, Naracoorte, Burra, Robe, Millicent and Lucindale are expected to experience the worst wind conditions, with gusts of up to 90km/h possible.
Meanwhile in Tasmania, winds of up to 100km/h will wreak havoc in the suburbs of Devonport, Burnie, Whitemark, Strahan, Queenstown and Dover.
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued severe weather warnings for damaging winds for south-east Australia, with wind gusts of up to 130km/h possible (file image)
BOM meteorologist Sarah Scully said the cold front would bring “really windy conditions and gusty rain and thunderstorms” to parts of south-east Australia.
“In New South Wales it will be generally dry, but it will be a very windy day and there will be showers in southern areas,” he said.
There will be a lot of wind, especially in Sydney and the Illawarra region.
‘For Victoria, it will also be a very windy day, while for South Australia there will be a breezy start on Wednesday, but winds will ease by early afternoon.’
Weatherzone meteorologist Ben Domensino said Tasmania would be the “hardest hit area” by the weather system.
“The strongest winds will be in western, southern and eastern Tasmania, where gusts are expected to reach around 110 km/h in low-lying areas and more than 125 km/h on high ground and along parts of the state’s east coast,” he said.
Another cold front will move across Western Australia on Wednesday night, bringing gusty winds and rain to the west coast.
These windy conditions come amid unusually warm temperatures for parts of the country, with Brisbane forecast to be 8°C warmer than average on Wednesday and reach a high of 31°C.
On Monday, a Scorching 41.6°C was recorded in the Yampi Strait in the northwest Western Australia: Highest winter temperature ever recorded in Australia.
The Bureau predicts rising temperatures will continue throughout the week, with some areas seeing highs around 11°C higher than average for the end of winter.
Sydney
Wednesday: Sunny. Northwest winds at 15 to 25 km/h increasing to 35 to 50 km/h in the morning and then turning west in the early afternoon. Min. 16 °C Max. 28 °C
Thursday: Sunny. Westerly wind at 15 to 25 km/h, easing during the morning. Min. 13 °C Max. 23 °C
Friday: Sunny. Northwest winds at 25 to 35 km/h, becoming weak in the afternoon. Min. 12 °C Max. 29 °C
The windy conditions come amid unusually warm temperatures for parts of the country, with Brisbane forecast to be 8C warmer than average on Wednesday and reach a high of 31C.
Melbourne
Wednesday: Partly cloudy. High chance of showers in the Dandenongs, medium chance across the rest of the country. Small hail possible in the bay suburbs late this afternoon and evening. Northwesterly winds at 35 to 50 km/h turning to the west early in the morning then decreasing to 20 to 30 km/h in the evening. Min. 13°C Max. 18°C
Thursday: Cloudy. Medium chance of rain. Winds from the west to the northwest at 20 to 30 km/h, with a tendency to the north to the northwest at 25 to 40 km/h during the day. Min. 10 °C Max. 17 °C
Friday: Cloudy. High chance of showers, most likely in the morning and afternoon. Winds from the north at 35 to 50 km/h, turning to the west at 25 to 40 km/h during the morning and then to the west-northwest at 20 to 30 km/h during the afternoon. Min. 13 °C, Max. 19 °C
Brisbane
Wednesday: Chance of fog in the early morning. Sunny day. Winds from the north to the northwest at 15 to 25 km/h, becoming weak in the afternoon and then from the north to the northwest at 15 to 20 km/h in the afternoon. Min. 16 °C Max. 31 °C
Thursday: Sunny. Light winds from the north to northwest at 15 to 20 km/h during the day then light at night. Min. 19 °C Max. 33 °C
Friday: Sunny. Light northwest to northeast winds at 15 to 20 km/h during the afternoon then light during the night. Min. 16 °C Max. 32 °C
Perth
Wednesday: Mostly sunny. Chance of morning fog. Chance of light rain, most likely in the afternoon. Light winds becoming northwesterly at 15 to 25 km/h by midday. Min. 9 °C Max. 21 °C
Thursday: Cloudy. Very high chance of showers, most likely in the morning and afternoon. Northwest winds at 25 to 35 km/h tending to the west at 25 to 40 km/h during the morning then decreasing to 15 to 25 km/h overnight. Min. 15 °C Max. 21 °C
Friday: Partly cloudy. Medium chance of showers, most likely in the morning and afternoon. West winds at 20 to 30 km/h. Min. 11 °C Max. 18 °C
Adelaide
Wednesday: Cloudy. Medium chance of showers, most likely in the early morning. West winds at 30 to 45 km/h decreasing to 15 to 25 km/h in the afternoon. Min. 13 °C Max. 17 °C
Thursday: Partly cloudy. Chance of light rain. Winds from the west to the northwest at 15 to 25 km/h, with a tendency to the north to the northwest at 25 to 35 km/h during the morning. Min. 11 °C Max. 22 °C
Friday: Partly cloudy. High chance of showers. Northwest winds at 25 to 35 km/h, turning to the west at 30 to 45 km/h during the morning. Min. 14 °C Max. 19 °C
Hobart
Wednesday: Cloudy. High chance of showers, more likely in the morning. Northwest winds at 25 to 35 km/h tending to the west at 30 to 45 km/h in the morning. Low of 8 °C High of 12 °C
Thursday: Partly cloudy. High chance of showers, with possible small hail in the morning. Winds west at 25 to 40 km/h, turning to the north to northwest at 15 to 25 km/h during the afternoon. Min. 7 °C Max. 14 °C
Friday: Cloudy. Very high chance of showers, most likely in the morning. Winds from the north to northwest at 25 to 35 km/h, turning to the west during the morning and then to the northwest at 20 to 30 km/h overnight. Min. 10 °C Max. 15 °C
Canberra
Wednesday: Partly cloudy. Northwest winds at 30 to 45 km/h, turning to the west at 35 to 50 km/h at noon and then decreasing to 25 to 35 km/h in the evening. Min. 8 °C Max. 18 °C
Thursday: Partly cloudy. West winds at 15 to 25 km/h, turning to the northwest at 20 to 30 km/h during the afternoon and then decreasing to 15 to 20 km/h overnight. Min. 4 °C Max. 16 °C
Friday: Partly cloudy. Medium chance of showers. Northwest winds at 20 to 30 km/h increasing to 30 to 45 km/h during the morning and then turning to the west at 15 to 25 km/h during the afternoon. Min. 5 °C Max. 21 °C
Darwin
Wednesday: Sunny. Light winds blowing from the east at 15-25 km/h in the morning and then from the northeast in the early afternoon. Min. 23 °C Max. 34 °C
Thursday: Sunny. Light winds blowing from the east to the northeast at 15 to 25 km/h during the morning and then from the northwest to the northeast at 15 to 20 km/h during the afternoon. Min. 23 °C Max. 24 °C
Friday: Mostly sunny. Light winds from the northwest to northeast between 15 and 25 km/h during the day and then from the west to northwest in the afternoon. Min. 23 °C Max. 33 °C