SA and Adelaide weather: Chilly mornings forecast with polar vortex set to clip South Australia

South Aussies will be waking up to teeth-chattering mornings this weekend – with “feel-like” temperatures making it seem colder than it really is – as the state is hit by the edge of a polar vortex.

South Australians should brace themselves for another cold front clipping parts of the state, with minimum temperatures set to drop to 6C this weekend – though it could feel chillier.

Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Angus Hines said the state will see a bout of icy conditions heading into the weekend, affecting overnight and morning temperatures.

Chilly temperatures have left parts of the country shivering this week, with some at least partly attributing the colder weather to a destabilised polar vortex.

Mr Hines described the polar vortex as a belt of “very strong winds” that spin around the South Pole.

Come winter, they can expand far enough to clip parts of Australia, bringing in cold and windy conditions.

“Friday evening, we’re going to get another very weak little pulse of cold air ... it’s not really a direct hit from the polar vortex ... we’re just sort of getting clipped by the very edge of it across southern parts of Australia,” Mr Hines said.

You might want to stay in bed a bit longer this weekend. Picture: Generic

Chilly weather at Brighton in July. Picture: Ben Clark

The bureau has forecast minimum temperatures of 6C for Saturday and Sunday with a top of 16 and 17C – but it may feel colder than that, with the “feel-like” temperature belying the actual one.

Mr Hines said this happens when cold conditions overlap with moderate to strong winds.

“The reason they make you feel colder is because your body’s natural response when it’s a cold day is to try and make a very thin layer of warm air to sort of cling to your skin,” he said.

“When it’s windy, any attempts to do that just get blown away so you’re constantly getting fresh cold conditions pushed against your skin and it does feel even colder.”

But with winds expected to be on the lighter side, temperatures should only feel one or two degrees cooler than the reading on the thermometer, he said.

Mr Hines added that those conditions are expected to clear “quite quickly after that front passes through”.

Minimum temperatures should see a slight bump on Monday, with a warner 9C and a maximum of 16C to start off the week.