The penultimate weekend of winter in Australia is expected to be cold and cloudy thanks to a cold front crossing the country and a band of rain over the south-east.
Residents along the country’s east coast from Brisbane to Victoria are expected to see drizzle showers Friday morning through Saturday.
The band of rain covers southeast Queensland, much of central and eastern New South Wales and eastern Victoria and will begin to retreat south on Friday evening.
Most of the system will have moved offshore by Saturday morning, but some showers are expected to persist in southern Victoria and parts of South Australia.
Showers are expected to hit Melbourne on Friday and Saturday before changing to light cloudiness on Sunday.
But the drought will be short-lived with showers expected to resume on Monday.
Showers are forecast for southeastern Australia on Friday while Melbourne will see drizzle and cloud over the weekend
Weatherzone meteorologist Tom Hough warned Melbourne to regroup on Friday.
‘A cold front crossing Victoria today will introduce a cooler air mass to the south east,’ he told Daily Mail Australia.
“The temperature is cool today in Melbourne with a high of 12°C, but it will warm up tomorrow with temperatures reaching 16°C and 17°C on Saturday and Sunday.
“That cold air mass moving behind the cold front will also bring gusty winds, so the wind chill will make it a few degrees colder.
“Today will easily be the coldest of the next few days.”
Adelaide is expected to see showers from Friday to next Wednesday.
Minimum temperatures in the South Australian capital are expected to remain below 10C while Sunday will be the hottest day with a high of 17C expected.
Sydney is expected to avoid most of the rain on Friday ahead of a sunny weekend.
“Overall Sydney is looking pretty sunny for the next three days,” said meteorologist Hough.
“The temperature is much warmer than in the south, around 12.5C this morning and warming to a high of 19C with mostly clear conditions.
“The rest of the weekend looks the same with a high of 19C and sunny skies on Saturday before warming up a bit on Sunday to 21C.
“It will be windy at times, like in Melbourne, so even though the temperature may be 19C today, it will feel colder.”
A cold front will bring a mass of cold air to southeastern Australia (pictured, a map of Australia’s temperatures – coldest in blue, warmest in yellow)
Parts of southeastern Australia are expected to see snow on Friday and Saturday as the cold front moves in.
Snow is expected to reach 700m in Tasmania and 900-1000m in Victoria and New South Wales.
“A flurry of wintry weather will spread across NSW on Friday and Saturday, with snow possible across the central and northern ranges of the state,” Weather zone said meteorologist Ben Domensino.
“After a streak of unusually warm and calm weather in New South Wales in July, this freezing air mass will deliver some of the coldest weather so far this season.
“Some of the rain will fall as snow over the next few days. Unlike most other frontal systems so far this winter, this one is expected to push far enough north to provide snowy air well outside the Alps.
“Snow is forecast to reach around 900-1000m in elevation across south and central New South Wales from Friday to Saturday morning. A few flakes may even settle above about 1000m upstate, most likely Friday evening or Saturday morning.
Ski resorts in the south east saw flurries of snow set in Friday morning with Snow Cams in Perisher showing the fields completely white.
Canberra is expected to experience a chilly Friday with showers and a high temperature of just 11C.
The cold will continue through the weekend with temperatures dropping to -2°C on Saturday, causing morning frosts and a high of 13°C.
Fortunately, the weather will warm up slightly from there with high temperatures of 17°C predicted for Sunday and Monday.
Brisbane could see showers on Friday before the weather clears for a sunny weekend with highs in the 20C range.
Ski resorts in the south east saw flurries of snow set in on Friday morning with the Snow Cams in Perisher (above) showing the fields completely white
Possible showers are expected over Hobart on Friday with cloudy conditions to remain Saturday.
Skies will start to clear on Sunday before showers return mid next week.
Perth also looks gray with cloudy weather forecast Friday to Monday.
Darwin is expected to be the sunniest and warmest capital with clear skies all weekend and high temperatures in the mid-30s.
