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The cold weather blasting Australia's south-east could bring sub-zero temperatures and frost to parts of Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria overnight Saturday and into Sunday.
Key points:
- The system driving the cold blast is moving offshore but similar weather is forecast for the end of next week
- Frosts could extend into eastern South Australia on Monday morning
- A BoM forecaster said the weather was unusual this early in autumn
From Rockhampton in Queensland to Ceduna in South Australia, the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) is forecasting a possible drop of up to 2-6 degrees Celsius below average overnight temperatures.
Snow is expected at low elevations in the Victorian and NSW alpine regions, where temperatures could plummet to 10C below May averages.
But total falls are likely to be smaller than amounts recorded in the past few days.
Winds gusting at up to 120 kilometres per hour also forecast for the alpine areas but are expected to ease early on Sunday.
"Such a cold outbreak is earlier in the season than we would usually expect," a BOM spokesman said.
"In general this event is not unusual in winter but it is somewhat unusual so early in the autumn."
Frosts could extend into eastern South Australia on Monday morning.
The complex low pressure system bringing this weather has been moving across the country's south-east for the past few days and it is expected to head out into the Tasman Sea overnight Saturday and into Sunday.
The cold weather should go with it, but by Thursday another low will be moving over Western Australia and heading east, bringing strong winds and low temperatures back.
Severe weather warnings in place across NSW, Victoria and Tasmania
Along Victoria's South Gippsland coast, damaging winds could reach up to 115kph throughout Saturday night, while gusts of 137kph were detected at Wilsons Promontory at 2:00pm.
In NSW there is a hazardous surf warning for Sydney and the central and southern coasts, making conditions dangerous for rock fishers and people in small boats.
Some coastal erosion is possible with large and powerful waves predicted to hit the coastline.
Along the southern NSW coast, damaging winds have been gusting at more than 90kph but are forecast to ease on Saturday evening or early on Sunday.
A warning has also been issued for graziers across much of inland southern NSW, with low temperatures, rain and winds making conditions dangerous for livestock.
"There is a risk of losses of lambs and sheep exposed to these conditions," the BOM spokesman said.
"Particularly for recently shorn sheep and lambs that are vulnerable to wind chill."
The cold front has already brought record low temperatures across southern Queensland, and on Thursday Adelaide had its coldest April day in 12 years.