Cold snap for Australia’s south-east

Millions of people in south-eastern Australia can expect a blast of wintry weather on the weekend.

Temperatures in Melbourne are forecast to struggle to reach a maximum of 13 degrees today and only improve by one or two degrees tomorrow and Sunday.

This comes after the Victorian capital shivered through its coldest day in five years yesterday as the mercury struggled to reach 10.1 degrees. Luckily for Melburnians, the wind was fairly light which helped ensure the wintry conditions didn’t feel even colder.

Meanwhile, the Bureau of Meteorology today issued a frost warning for parts of the state’s north east. Temperatures plummeted to zero degrees in the early hours and many parts will see maximums of under 10 degrees

Further north, large parts of New South Wales are forecast for showers and cold conditions.

Sydney can expect a maximum temperature of 17 and rain today before sunny spells from tomorrow.

But the mercury will struggle to hit 15 degrees across inland parts of the state.

Tasmanians will bear the brunt of the wintry blast, with Hobart reaching only 11 degrees over the next couple of days.

The cause of the cold snap over south-eastern regions is abundant cloud cover blocking the sun and trapping cold air near the surface.

But it looks like the cold blast will be only temporary, according to the bureau’s long range forecast, issued yesterday.

July to September days and nights are very likely to be warmer than average across Australia, with an increased chance of unusually warm days and nights.

During that period, rainfall is likely to be above average for parts of the interior and eastern seaboard, and below average across much of Victoria and Tasmania, south-east South Australia, and parts of south-west Western Australia.