Australian Weather

Today, 1:22AM UTC

Chilly nights with inland frosts are likely across a large portion of Australia this weekend, with the potential for the mercury to reach the freezing point in all states and territories except Western Australia. After a strong but relatively fast-moving cold front whipped through the southeast corner of the continent on Thursday, Australia’s weekend weather will be dominated by a strong high pressure system centred over the Great Australian Bight. This stable set-up will provide mild, pleasant daytime weather across much of the country for those hoping to enjoy the outdoors this weekend. It also contains the classic ingredients for frosty mornings away from the coast: a cool airmass, clear skies, and calm overnight conditions. Let’s take a quick look at the potential for frost in each state: Image: Synoptic chart for Saturday, May 9, 2026, showing the strong high pressure system dominating Australia’s weekend weather. Source: Weatherzone. New South Wales/ACT Obviously the Snowy Mountains and nearby areas can expect a crisp blanket of frost on both Saturday and Sunday mornings. That includes Canberra, which should fall to 0°C both days. The Central and Northern Tablelands and even the Upper Hunter Valley can also expect minimums around zero, although daytime highs should rise to around 20°C at many locations. Image: Daily Forecast for Canberra, ACT, on the Weatherzone app. Victoria The Victorian high country is another area where you’d expect sub-zero temperatures in the wake of a cold front. Frosty mornings are also possible in some other inland forecast districts in Victoria, although the overnight chill will be negated slightly by moderate winds and some very light remnant showers in the westerly stream behind the cold front. Image: Mt Buller, Victoria, on the morning of May 8, 2026. Source: ski.com.au. Tasmania As with Victoria, persistent southwesterly winds will be just strong enough to keep temperatures from plummeting below zero across the majority of the state, but elevated locations will still see minimums around freezing. Queensland When the Northern Tablelands of NSW are in for a frosty one, it’s usually a safe bet that the Granite Belt, just over the NSW border, will be almost as chilly. That’s the case this weekend, with Stanthorpe set to reach a minimum of 1°C on Saturday morning. Interestingly, the thermometer in a Stevenson screen (the shelter that houses weather instruments) is generally located around two metres above the ground. The air at ground level is often significantly colder, which is why you’ll sometimes observe frost when the official temperature is slightly above freezing. Northern Territory Frost is on the forecast for Alice Springs, with a Saturday morning minimum of 0°C expected. Other parts of the southern NT will be a touch warmer overnight, including Yulara at the base of Uluru, which is expecting a low of 4°C on Saturday morning. South Australia It’s likely that frost will occur in some parts of SA, but you might need a magnifying glass to find it. The southeast is normally the coldest part of the state, but it will be affected by similar conditions to Victoria, with just a hint of breeziness and humidity preventing freezing overnight lows. The best chance of frost is in SA’s North East Pastoral and North West Pastoral forecasts districts, where the mercury should fall to 2°C or 3°C near the NT border. Western Australia While most of WA’s inland can expect cool nights this weekend with single-digit minimums, it’s unlikely that it’ll be cold enough for frost, as the airmass over the state will have picked up a little warmth from the centre of the continent after circulating anti-clockwise around the high in recent days.

07 May 2026, 12:25AM UTC

Frigid temperatures have set in across southeastern Australia, with showers, small hail, snowfalls and icy winds all part of the mix on what promises to be the coldest day of 2026 to date in many locations. After a cold front ushered in a polar airmass overnight, this was the scene in the village square at Victoria’s Mt Buller ski resort, about three hours northeast of Melbourne, just after 9am. Image: Around 5cm of snow on the ground at Mt Buller on Thursday, May 7, 2026. Source: ski.com.au. How cold is it this Thursday morning? At 9am this Thursday, May 7, many temperature readings in Tasmania and the southeastern mainland were similar to what you’d expect on the coldest days of winter. For example: Notable Victorian 9am temperatures Mt Hotham was -5.3°C with an apparent or "feels like" temperature of -14.1°C due to strong southwesterly winds. Melbourne Airport was 6.2°C, with an apparent temperature of -0.2°C. Melbourne was 7.1°C with an apparent temperature of 3.7°C. Notable New South Wales 9am temperatures Thredbo Top Station was -6.2°C with an apparent temperature of -15.3°C. The site recorded Australia’s lowest overnight minimum of -6.5°C just after 8am. Cooma Airport was 1.1°C with an apparent temperature of -4.0°C. Snow was falling in the area at the time (elevation 930m), with a few flakes even reported down in the town of Cooma itself at 800m. Image: Snow also fell to lake level in Jindabyne, NSW (elevation 930m), the gateway town at the foot of the Snowy Mountains, where snow is quite rare even in midwinter. Source: NSW Live Traffic. Notable ACT 9am temperatures Mt Ginini was -4.2°C with an apparent temperature of -10.6°C. Notable Tasmanian 9am temperatures kunanyi/Mt Wellington was -3°C with an apparent temperature of -6.2°C. The tiny town of Liawenee was -0.9°C with an apparent temperature of -8°C. How long will this cold outbreak last? Image: Combined satellite and radar loop for Victoria and nearby areas for the six hours to 9:30am on Thursday, May 7, 2026. Source: Weatherzone. This is quite a powerful system for autumn, and a very cold one, but it was never destined to be a long-lived weather event. While showers and snowfalls can be expected to persist through Thursday and into Friday in Tasmania and southern Victoria, conditions will clear rapidly north of the Murray River. Indeed, steady snowfalls have already eased at Thredbo in NSW, while heavy snow showers are persisting this Thursday morning in Victoria’s southernmost two ski areas, Mt Buller and Mt Baw Baw. Heavier snowfalls at the southern mainland ski resorts are typical for snowy systems that come out of the southwest or south, where systems with a more westerly or northwesterly aspect tend to dump heavier snow at places like Thredbo, Perisher, Falls Creek and Mt Hotham. Image: Ski slopes at Thredbo just before 10am on Thursday, May 7, 2026. Source: Thredbo.com.au. What about the southeastern mainland capital cities? Melbourne was still sitting on just 7.6°C at 10am on a day when it looks like it could struggle to reach the forecast maximum of 14°C, especially if showers stick around. Melbourne received 11mm of rainfall overnight, its heaviest daily total since March. Between 9am and 10am, a further 1mm landed in the gauge. The Canberra region saw only brief light showers overnight, with no rain officially recorded in the city itself. A maximum of 12°C is forecast for today, with a string of frosty nights ahead. Adelaide is set for its chilliest day of the year to date, with a high of 17°C forecast. In Sydney, it started off as one of those typical days when locals wonder what the fuss is about down south. Then a brisk wind kicked in with a light shower in some suburbs around mid-morning, and a pleasant day with maximums in the high teens suddenly felt much cooler as the northwesterly swung around to a southwesterly.