Wet, wild and cold weather to hit Melbourne this weekend with maximum temperature of 12C

Victorians are being warned to brace for a blast of wet, cold weather this weekend — but there is good news for anyone heading to the snow.

Wet, wild and cold weather will hit Melbourne this weekend. Picture: Nicki Connolly

Victorians are set to shiver though a wet and wild weekend of weather, with meteorologists warning Melbourne will cop a windswept drenching on Saturday and Sunday.

Melburnians are also being warned to rug up with the mercury forecast to barely break double digits over the weekend.

The mercury was expected to hit no more than 14C on Thursday with 10mm of rain set to hit the city and winds of up to 30km/h forecast.

Friday will provide a brief reprieve, with a mostly sunny day and a top of 16C forecast.

However, the cold and rain will return on Saturday and last throughout the weekend with maximum temperature forecasts of 12C on both days.

Bureau of Meteorology's Melbourne rain radar at noon on July 25. Picture: Supplied

Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Michael Efron said a cold front would move through on Saturday.

“That does mean it’s looking pretty wet from the late morning and into Saturday afternoon as well, but we should see the showers easing into Saturday night,” he said.

“That wet weather continues on Sunday and we’re looking at a top temperature of only 12C.

“The other feature of Sunday will be southwesterly winds that will be quite strong, so Sunday will feel colder than Saturday, even though both days are looking at tops of 12C,” he said.

There is a chance of hail on Saturday. Picture: Ian Currie

Up to 9mm of rain is forecast to fall on Saturday and there’s also the possibility of small hail in the afternoon and evening.

North to north-westerly winds reaching speeds of between 20 to 30km/h are forecast to turn westerly and slow down slightly to between 15 to 25km/h during Saturday morning.

Sunday will bring much of the same, with a top of 12C and a medium chance of showers, most likely in the morning and afternoon.

Possible small hail is also on the cards for Sunday, with the southwesterly winds at 15 to 25km/h becoming light during the afternoon then becoming west to and northwesterly and 15 to 20km/h during the evening.

The Alpine resorts will get a good dumping of fresh snow on the weekend.

While the cold front may spur Melburnians to second-guess their weekend plans, those heading to the snow needn’t worry.

“We are going to see some good snowfalls for the Alpine resorts over the weekend,” Mr Efron said.

“The air will be cold enough that by Saturday afternoon, we may actually see snow falling about the Grampians, so potentially to about 700 meters elevation Saturday afternoon and evening.

“That means that the Macedon Ranges could also see some snow flurries late in the day, and then that continues into Sunday morning as well.

“So there’ll be really good snow falls for the resorts. On Saturday the resorts are looking at around 10 to 15 centimetres of fresh snow, and then on another Sunday, looking at perhaps another five centimetres or so.

“On top of that, the conditions will be really cold, so snow-making conditions will be really good as well,” he said.

Looking ahead, Mr Efron said the chilly mornings will be back.

“As we head into next week, we’re looking at pretty settled conditions for Melbourne,” he said.

“We’ll see the wind easing right off, but that does mean we’ll see the cold mornings returning.

“We’re looking at temperatures each morning early next week, of about 3C or 4C, so potentially some frost in some of the suburbs as well.

“That means that the days will be not too bad for this time of year, a lot more sunshine than what we’ve had recently.”

Originally published as Wet, wild and cold weather to hit Melbourne this weekend with maximum temperature of 12C