Brace yourself: Snow, hail and storms are coming
On Thursday, winter will officially be here, and Australia is embracing the season change with below-average temperatures across the south of the country.
Hobart will face a chilly 12C on Thursday while Melbourne will peak at 14C on the same day.
Forecasters predict snow to fall on high ground in Tasmania and, Victoria and NSW will face thunderstorms. It may even hail in Adelaide.
On the other side of Australia, the cities will experience relatively warm weather with Perth hitting temperatures in the low-20s throughout the week.
As the week progresses, a low-pressure system will travel across the Great Australian Bight into South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania.
“A series of cold fronts will bring showers across southern Australia over the coming days. Showers also for the east coast due to onshore winds. Snowfalls for TAS, VIC and NSW on Tue & Wed. Watch out for warnings,” the Bureau of Meteorology Australia tweeted.
Two cold fronts connected with the system will bring rain and chilly temperatures into Australia’s southeast.
Despite the cooler temperatures this week in the south, Bureau of Meteorology climatologist Dr Linden Ashcroft said there are no major climate drivers affecting the season.
“Conditions remain neutral across both the Indian and Pacific oceans. The Indian Ocean Dipole is inactive and there are no El Nino or La Nina patterns present," she said.
“This lack of large-scale climate drivers means our winter is likely to be more influenced by local effects.
“It also means for much of the country there is an equal chance of a drier or wetter winter apart from southwestern Western Australia where a drier season is likely,” Dr Ashcroft said.
This winter, the south of Australia is expected to experience warmer than average temperatures while minimum temperatures may be cooler in Queensland.
When it will be coolest in your city this week
Hobart
Hobart will experience temperatures that are usual for mid-July with Thursday dipping to just 12C.
Melbourne
Melbourne is expected to be hit with scattered showers this week and on Wednesday night there will be a low of 8C. On Thursday and Friday, the forecast is 14C.
Adelaide
On Wednesday, the temperature will sink to a low of 9C. Rain and possible hail is expected to fall this evening.
Perth
This week, temperatures will fluctuate around 19-23C. A possible storm is forecast on Thursday and on Friday, overnight temperatures will sink to 6C.
Darwin
Overnight lows this week will hit around 21C.
Brisbane
By the end of the week it will be sunny, however, nights will get cooler hitting an overnight low of 8C on Friday.
Sydney
The end of the week will see the coolest nights in Sydney with overnight lows of 9C.
Canberra
The coolest day in Canberra will be on Thursday and Friday with a high of 13C.