Warnings for frost across southeast Australia as rains gather

An icy blast has raised fears for frost across Australia’s southeast as millions prepare for a sodden weekend.

The mercury is tipped to plummet across the southeast of Australia into the weekend as a cold front which brought wild winds and rain dissipates.

The Bureau of Meteorology warned of frost conditions from Tasmania to Darling Downs in Queensland’s southeast on Thursday and Friday.

It comes after Sydney dipped to a monthly low of just 8.1C on Tuesday, rising to a maximum temperature of 17C on Thursday.

The Harbour City is forecast to reach similar temperatures into the weekend, with a high chance of up to 15mm of rain both days.

A frost warning for much of southeast Australia on Thursday, Friday. Picture: BOM

Further south, temperatures were tipped to dip below 0 degrees across large swathes of northeast Victoria on Friday morning.

Melbourne as expected to reach just 14C over Saturday and Sunday – with a low of 5C – off the back of largely cloudy weather, light winds, and no rain.

Canberra, meanwhile, was predicted to dip into negative digits on Sunday morning with a frosty forecast of -1C, rising to just 13C over the weekend.

Those conditions were expected to continue into next week when the nation’s capital is forecast to see minimums as low as -3C until Tuesday.

Largely set to escape rain and frost, Brisbane was forecast to reach a high of 23C over the weekend with sunny conditions and light winds.

Snow making machines underway at Hotham Alpine Resort. Picture: Hotham Alpine Resort

Elsewhere, Hobart was forecast to dip as low as 6C over the weekend with a high chance of up to 7mm, specifically on Sunday afternoon.

Adelaide was also forecast for a drenching with an 100 per cent chance of up to 8mm on Friday, before dipping to 2mm on Saturday.

Not escaping the rain, Perth was warned to brace for a very high chance of rain on Saturday with as much as 7mm on Sunday.

Rough start to snow season continues

The weather comes after a rocky start for the country’s snow resorts in NSW and Victoria following the commencement of the ski season last week.

BOM predicted only a dusting of snow no lower than 1100m across the NSW Snowy Mountains throughout the weekend, with possible showers.

Across the border, a “medium chance of snow flurries” was forecast for Mount Hotham resort area on Saturday; possible snow shower Sunday.

While Perisher reported a fresh dusting of snow on Thursday, most resorts were pushing their snow making ahead of the weekend.

Hotham Alpine Resort wrote on Thursday afternoon: “shout out to our snowmaking team, firing guns around the clock. Keep it going”.

Originally published as Warnings for frost across southeast Australia as rains gather