Damaging winds and heavy rain to hit southeast Australia – what you need to know

Damaging winds and heavy rain are set to batter southeastern Australia as winter sets in, bringing freezing temperatures across the country.

A seasonal cold front will move through Victoria, Tasmania and the ACT before moving north towards Sydney on Wednesday.

Strong and potentially destructive winds are forecast to devastate parts of Gippsland, Victoria, southern NSW and most of Tasmania.

Residents in south-eastern South Australia have been told to also be on the lookout for storm warnings.

Weatherzone Senior Meteorologist Brett Dutschke told Daily Mail Australia that gusts could reach speeds of up to 100 km/h and could down trees and branches.

TASMANIA

Forecasters at Weatherzone predict parts of Tasmania could see devastating winds of up to 125km/h on Tuesday morning.

Parts of the Apple Aisle are also expected to experience a cumulative downpour of 40-80mm of rain from Monday to Wednesday.

Winter cold combined with strong winds pushed apparent temperatures below freezing in central and eastern Tasmania on Monday evening.

The Bureau of Meteorology recorded a gust of 128km/h at Scotts Peak Dam, in the Southwest National Park, at 7.30am on Tuesday.

Winds of around 60mph remain possible over western, northern and some eastern districts of the state, including the Furneaux Islands and King Island.

VICTORIA

Melburnians woke up to strong winds and rain on Tuesday, with Melbourne Airport recording -0.5C on the ‘feels like’ readout with gusts of 72km/h.

Sheep grazers have also been warned by the Bureau of Meteorology, with warnings that there is a risk of loss of lambs and sheep exposed to the cold, rain showers and strong northwesterly winds.

Coastal and higher areas of Victoria, including parts of Melbourne, are expected to experience freezing conditions during a cold snap on Tuesday morning.

NSW/ACT

The ‘strong’ cold front will move across south-eastern NSW on Tuesday and Wednesday, BoM said.

Winds are expected to ease in the Alps early Wednesday morning, but could persist over the remaining eastern parts of the warning until Wednesday afternoon.

Sheep farmers in the ACT and regional NSW have also been warned of a ‘risk of loss of lambs and sheep exposed to these conditions’.

The cold front is expected to bring significant snowfall to ski areas, following a less-than-favorable climatic opening to the season.

Weather zone predicts 15 to 25 centimeters of snow above 1,500 meters on the Alps.

Conditions are expected to ease “significantly” on Thursday, Mr Dutschke said.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

The agency has also issued sea wind warnings for areas of south-eastern South Australia that are expected to hit on Tuesday and continue on Wednesday.

Strong winds are expected to hit Western Australia’s Esperance Coast, while there are currently no warnings for the Northern Territory.

QUEEN COUNTRY

The Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast were warned of high winds along the coastline on Wednesday.

The agency published its long-term forecast for this winter last month, predicting inland and north Queensland are likely to be abnormally dry.

However, the agency cautioned that “long-term forecasts are probabilistic in nature and involve a degree of uncertainty.”

NORTHERN TERRITORY

There are currently no warnings for the Top End, but the agency says rainfall is more likely to fall during the winter months.

Temperatures are also expected to be higher than normal in the Northern Territory and across Australia.

“Days and nights are very likely to be warmer than average across Australia, with an increased chance of unusually warm days and nights,” the forecast reads.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Strong winds are expected to hit Western Australia’s Esperance Coast.

Advance warnings on the coasts of Leeuwin and Albany have now been withdrawn by the agency.