A cold snap is sweeping across south-east
Australia, with damaging winds rain leading to flooding and snow possible as far north
as the Queensland/New South Wales border. The Bureau has issued
Severe Weather Warnings for damaging winds and as of Monday afternoon,
these cover coastal and elevated parts of Tasmania, Victoria, New South Wales
and the ACT. In Tasmania, we've already seen wind
gusts of above 100 km an hour at Kennaook/Cape Grim,
and for the rest of Monday we could continue to see wind gusts of up
to 100 km an hour for parts of the Tassie west coast,
easing later on Monday evening. In Victoria, winds will increase
during Monday and may exceed 90 km an hour for parts of the southern and south-west facing coast,
as well as about Mount Baw Baw as well and winds will ease later on Monday night
and into Tuesday morning. Across New South Wales and the ACT, we start to see wind gusts of between
70 to 90 km an hour develop across southern parts of the warning area, and these will extend north
into the Central Tablelands and parts of the Illawarra, including Wollongong,
into early Tuesday morning and we could also see
wind gusts in excess of 110 km an hour about parts of the highest
alpine peaks, and these winds will ease later
on Tuesday morning. With the forecast winds and snow,
we are forecasting blizzard conditions for elevated alpine areas,
which can make travel dangerous. So, if you are in
these areas over the next day, be sure to follow all advice
from local authorities, particularly as it is still the school holidays
in New South Wales. The Bureau has also issued Flood
Watches and Warnings for Victoria and Tasmania. In Tasmania, Minor Flood Warnings
are current for the Huon and Saint Pauls Rivers, where between 40 to 70 mm of rain
has fallen over the past 24 hours. And with more rainfall expected,
a Flood Watch is current for much of eastern,
southern and central Tasmania, with the possibility of Minor
to Moderate flooding. In Victoria, Flood Watches are also current,
and these include for the Thomson, Latrobe and Goulburn Rivers, as well
as upper reaches of the Yarra River. With rainfall over
the next 24 to 36 hours, minor to possibly isolated
moderate flooding is possible, especially as these areas remain
relatively wet. And so just how much rainfall are
we expecting? We've already seen rainfall
totals across parts of southern Tasmania, but heading into Monday evening,
as this low pressure system moves towards Victoria, rainfall totals will build across
southern parts of the state, particularly for southern facing terrain and that's
where rainfall could be enhanced and particularly in those south-east
to southerly winds that will pick up a little bit of extra
moisture off the east coast of Tasmania where sea surface temperatures
remain relatively warmer. Heading into Tuesday,
that's where we start to see rainfall totals build across
south-eastern parts of New South Wales and over the next 24 hours,
we are expecting to see between 15 to 50 mm of rainfall, with isolated falls in excess of 50 mm,
which may produce flooding. For the rest of Tuesday, showers will
extend up into northern New South Wales, and it may be cold enough to see snow
flurries for the Northern Tablelands as and even as far north as the Queensland
Granite Belt but the further north you do go, those snow flurries are less likely
to settle to the ground. So, with damaging winds, the possibility
of flooding and blizzard conditions be sure to check the latest information
and updates from the Bureau's website and social media
and please stay safe.