The blast of wintry weather across south-eastern Australia is forecast to continue this week, with warnings of damaging winds, snow and heavy rain.
The Bureau of Meteorology today issued severe weather warnings for upland areas of New South Wales and Victoria, where gusts are forecast to average about 90km/h and peak about 115km/h.
Later today, blizzard conditions are forecast in alpine areas over 1900 metres before they east early tomorrow.
There is a hazardous surf warning for the Hunter Coast, Sydney Coast, Illawarra Coast, Batemans Coast and Eden Coast in NSW.
A gale warning has been issued in Victoria for Port Phillip, Western Port, West Coast, Central Coast, Central Gippsland Coast and East Gippsland Coast.
The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service recommends urges people to avoid back country travel until conditions ease.
Senior meteorologist Miriam Bradbury, from the bureau, told Today this morning many areas woke to very cold temperatures, including the Gold Coast where the mercury barely nudged 7 degrees, its coolest morning in two year.
“But those cool temperatures aren’t just emerging as the overnight minimum or daytime maximum temperatures. They’re also impacting our snow levels … What is exceptional about this cold low-pressure system is that we’re seeing the snow level dropping about the central and even Northern Tablelands of NSW, as well,” she said.
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Driving the extreme weather conditions is a complex low-pressure system to the east of Tasmania.
The system to the north is drawing in the dry Australian continental air, bringing increasingly brisk winds along the east coast.
It is forecast to track towards the Bass Strait during today, with a series of associated troughs crossing NSW and Victoria, leading to strengthening winds over coming hours.
Another low-pressure system in the Tasman Sea is tracking towards New Zealand, which is forecast to receive a burst of similar chilly weather.