An ice front from Antarctica has brought freezing temperatures to millions of people, and the cold weather is expected to last until Friday.
Cold and gusty winds blew from Tasmania into the mainland’s southeast on Thursday, causing temperatures to plunge in Victoria and New South Wales.
An icy blast from Antarctica has blown icy winds across southeastern Australia. windy.com
Several places in Victoria and Tasmania experienced what felt like their coldest day of the year – despite the mercury being much higher than the ‘felt’ temperature in Melbourne.
Temperatures appear to have been no more than six degrees in the Victorian capital for most of the day, Weatherzone reports.
Meanwhile, Hobart residents were reeling from temperatures that felt below freezing for much of the day.
“At the summit of Kunanyi/Mt Wellington over Hobart, the ambient temperature was -3.2 degrees, but average wind speeds of about 76 km/h produced an apparent temperature of -20.1 degrees,” Weatherzone reported.
Meanwhile at Mount William in Victorian Grampian the apparent temperature was -8.5 degrees.
The very cold winds were the result of a frozen air mass that originated in Antarctica and slowly moved southeast toward the mainland.
The cold front is expected to mostly clear by Friday morning and into the weekend, but Antarctic winds are forecast to persist in some cases.
Icy winds in Victoria and Tasmania could persist with the addition of some isolated wintry showers as a trough from the southwest brings gusty winds, the Bureau of Meteorology said.
Snow on Mount Wellington, July 23. Facebook/Dashcams Tasmania.
“We expect to see some frost in northern parts of the state first, as well as some fog in the north-east,” BoM meteorologist Jonathan Howe said of Victoria.
In Tasmania, winds are expected to pick up this afternoon with a “cold snap”.
Cloud and showers are forecast for parts of south-east Melbourne this morning.
In New South Wales, Sydneysiders will get a taste of icy winds from a cold front that will bring frost to residents in the city’s west on Friday.
However, temperatures in the NSW capital are expected to rise again to 17 degrees.
It will be a frosty morning for South Australians too, especially in the south-eastern and eastern parts of the state.