Low-level snow is predicted to fall in many states as an arctic blast sweeps through most of southern and eastern Australia.
The Bureau of Meteorology has warned that the powerful cold front and low pressure system will be at its most severe on Tuesday, bringing a chilly start to the week for Australians.
This system will affect residents in southeast South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania, eastern New South Wales, and areas of southern Queensland, according to the BOM.
‘Significant snow and rain with possible severe thunderstorms and hail is also expected … mostly impacting western and central NSW, and western Victoria and Melbourne.’
Weatherzone meteorologist Brett Dutschke said snow would fall as low as 300m in northern parts of Victoria, 500m in NSW’s southern highlands, and 600m in Tasmania.
On the Oberon Plateau near NSW’s Blue Mountains as much as five centimetres of snow could be seen on the ground. The same could also be seen as far north as Walcha, just south of the Northern Tablelands.
Victoria’s Mount Buller received 15cm of snow overnight while Perisher copped 20cm.
Significant snow on alpine peaks of 20-50cm is also likely with blizzard conditions.
The bureau warns the low-level snow and windy conditions will create particularly hazardous driving conditions, with inland highways likely to be hit by sleet.
Maximum temperatures are expected to be up to 6C below the May average, including in areas as far inland as southern Queensland and southern NT.
In Victoria temperatures are forecast to be between 8-10C below the average, with Melbourne to reach a top of just 11C on Tuesday.
Mr Dutschke said while the chances of thunderstorms are lower than they were yesterday, small hail was likely to fall in some areas around Tasmania, SA, NSW and Victoria.
Most of the country’s southeast is also going to be blasted with wild wind gusts.
‘It will be very windy regardless of the thunderstorms,’ he told Daily Mail Australia.
‘The winds are strong enough to cause damage to trees and power lines, there may be some power outages.’
Southern parts of South Australia and areas of Sydney will see gusts of up to 100km/h.
‘The wind will ease somewhat tonight but tomorrow will still be significantly windy,’ the meteorologist added.
‘Tomorrow night will be the last of it.’
The cold front is also bringing large swells that will batter most of the southern Australian mainland, in particular South Australia and western Victoria.
Severe weather warnings for damaging wind gusts are in place for much of South Australia and NSW, plus northern Victoria.
‘These areas have also recently seen significant rainfall meaning winds over sodden catchments may see fallen trees (and) powerlines and impacts to caravans and motorhomes,’ the BOM warns.
There will likely be damage to property and weakened trees, with possible flash flooding due to blocked drains.’
The damaging winds are likely to ease late on Wednesday.
South Australia was already battered by an intense weather system on Monday night, with some of Adelaide’s northern suburbs even seeing a tornado form.
Sydneysiders will need to rug up for the next three days as temperatures plummet to a low of 8C each day.
Weather warnings are still in place around southeastern parts of Australia.
In NSW the Great Dividing Range has been put on alert for potentially damaging winds.
The same warnings have been issued for parts of Sydney, the Byron Coast, Macquarie Coast, Hunter Coast, Sydney Coast, Illawarra Coast, Batemans Coast and Eden Coast.
At Lord Howe Island gusts may reach up to 90km/hour with swells to hit five metres high.
In Victoria residents in Port Phillip, Western Port, Gippsland Lakes, West Coast and Central Coast have all been warned of severe winds.
In South Australia strong winds are also forecast for Adelaide Metropolitan Waters, Upper West Coast, Lower West Coast and Gulf St Vincent.
On Monday night wild winds and torrential downpours caused widespread destruction across the harbour city, including Lindfield, Turramurra, St Ives and Killara on the north shore and Dural in the north-west.
A black Mercedes was crushed by a fallen tree branch in Double Bay in the city’s east, causing extensive damage to its front windscreen.
Canberra will see some showers on Tuesday with a maximum of 9C forecast.
Adelaide will see a top of 14C while Sydney will reach highs of 18C.
Residents in Hobart and Melbourne woke up to a chilly morning on Tuesday with both cities to reach a top of just 11C.
Temperatures will be warmer in Brisbane with the Queensland capital to see tops of 21C but winds will hang around for most of the day.
Meanwhile in Western Australia heavy rainfall is battering most of the Pilbara region, with up to 200mm of rain falling over the past few days.
A map compiled by Daily Mail Australia using the Bureau of Meteorology’s climate data search function has revealed the lowest July temperatures in recorded history.
It shows Canberra recorded the lowest temperature freezing -8C while Hobart and Melbourne hit a chilly -2.8C.
Perth’s lowest temperature was 0C while Adelaide was marginally warmer at 0.4C, with Brisbane and Sydney plunging to 2.3C and 2.2C respectively.
David Taylor, who runs the Brisbane Weather and East Coast Weather Facebook pages said there was a chance that temperatures could drop that low this winter, but predicted temperatures would be generally above average.
However, Chris Matthews, a meteorologist at Weatherzone, predicted below average maximum temperatures this winter.