Strong cold front and low-pressure system to impact south-east Australia from today

29/05/2022

Issued: 5pm AEST on Sunday 29 May 2022

Much of southern and eastern Australia will be impacted by a strong cold front and low-pressure system from Sunday and into next week.

Residents of south-east SA, Vic, Tas and eastern NSW to feel the brunt of the weather systems with below-average temperatures, showers, low-level snow and brisk winds.

Severe Weather Warnings for damaging winds currently stretch from south-east WA, across SA and include much of NSW and north-east Vic.

Severe Weather Warnings will continue to evolve over the coming days, so people should continue to monitor warnings.

Severe thunderstorms and small hail are also possible, mainly in the south. Thunderstorms may bring the risk of localised destructive winds. This cold front may also bring significant rainfall to some regions where water storages are near full and soils are saturated, so river rises are possible in several catchments.

Temperatures will drop significantly in the wake of the front, with below average temperatures expected for the next week. Maximum temperatures will plunge to be 3-6 C below average (for May) as far inland as southern Qld and southern NT, still remaining below average for the rest of the week. Forecast strong winds will make conditions feel much colder during the day.

Given the length of time since the last wind event, there may be some damage to property and weakened trees, and flash flooding due to blocked drains.

The cold front will reach the east coast late Monday and into Tuesday morning, with very strong north-west winds ahead that may generate damage along the NSW and south-east Qld coasts.

These strong to damaging winds will continue — and peak — into Tuesday morning, and there are likely impacts for populated areas along the NSW and Qld coasts. These gusty winds will ease late Wednesday.

The snow level will fall to around 1100-1200 m across Tas, Vic and NSW with the passage of the front. The coldest air will move over during Tuesday, with the snow level potentially falling to 800 m for the NSW Central Tablelands, 600 m for south-east NSW, Tas and Vic.

It will be very windy, leading to possible blizzard conditions. Significant snow accumulations of 20-50cm are possible for the ski resorts. Snow may fall outside of alpine regions with a chance of snow for the Dandenong Ranges.

The low will move into the Tasman Sea from Wednesday, with showers continuing in the cold air behind it.

Large waves and swell conditions will impact most of the southern mainland coast. Parts of the coast could see tides near or above High Astronomical Tide (HAT). Very large seas will accompany the front, largely in SA and western Vic. People should monitor warnings and check conditions.

Flooding is continuing in several central inland and northern inland river systems from water flowing downstream from Qld. Flows in these catchments are generally very slow, and several flood peaks will take considerable time to ease over the coming weeks and months as flood water from Qld moves downstream into NSW. People should check road and river conditions regularly.

The Bureau is recommending communities stay up to date with the latest Bureau warnings through the Bureau's website and BOM Weather app and follow the advice of emergency services.

ENDS