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A low and a cold front bring gusty showers to SW Vic, eastern NSW, SE SA, Tas and western Qld. Moist onshore winds drive a few showers over northeast and southeast Qld, and over WA's south. Mostly dry elsewhere, with breezy conditions across the interior and northwest.
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Today, 1:19AM UTC
Strong, cold, snowy system to chill the southeast
The coldest outbreak of what has been a relatively mild autumn is heading to southeastern Australia from midweek, with the strong likelihood of widespread showers, small hail, strong winds, and snowfalls at higher elevations. The cold front will sweep across the southeast on Wednesday and Thursday, and will be the second punch of a two-pronged weather system which has already left its mark, with record May rainfall totals recorded at several locations in the 24 hours to 9am Monday. Let's break down this major weather system into its two distinct phases. Phase 1: Heavy inland rain ahead of weak cold front Over the weekend and into Monday morning, significant rainfall totals were recorded in numerous locations across Victoria, New South Wales, and northern Tasmania, as a series of rainbands arrived from the north, driven by a low pressure system centred over waters just south of the SA/Vic border. Image: Rain radar across SE Australia in the 12 hours to 10pm on Sunday, May 3, 2026. Source: Weatherzone. Notable rainfall totals in the 24 hours to 9am Monday included: NSW 106mm at Thredbo Top Station, which was its wettest May day on record (records since 1970). 61mm at Cabramurra, the wettest day in any month since 2024 for this reliably damp Snowy Mountains site (records since 1997). 48mm at Forbes Airport, the site's wettest day in any month in more than two years (records since 1996). VICTORIA 81.8mm at Mt Hotham, with 66.2mm at Harrietville at the foot of the road to Hotham (where totals are often much less than half than what’s received at the top of the mountain). 78mm at Mt Buffalo Chalet. It’s also worth noting that numerous towns in central and western Victoria registered healthy falls around 20mm in the 24 hours to 9am Sunday, with several locations registering their highest daily rainfall totals for May in six years or longer. Eastern NSW is now receiving rain from a rainband stretching from the northwest of the state to the southeast, with a few showers falling in Sydney. Later this Monday, slightly chillier air will pass through the southeast. Melbourne has topped 20°C on 13 of the last 14 days, and could again reach a mild 20°C this Monday ahead of a cooler maximum of 18°C on Tuesday. But much colder weather lies ahead. Phase 2: Showers, wind, snow with a much stronger cold front Image: Predicted mean sea level pressure and precipitable water according to the ECMWF model for SE Australia at 4am on Friday, May 8, 2026. Source: Weatherzone. The weak front passing through the southeast this Monday will establish a westerly stream, which will allow polar air to push northwards with the second, much stronger cold front due later this week. The coldest air arrives over the mainland alpine region on Thursday, with snow projected to fall as low as about 900 metres. Snow could also fall on the tablelands below the mountains in parts of Vic, NSW and the ACT. At this stage, around 20cm of snow is projected to accumulate in the Victorian and NSW ski resorts. This will almost certainly melt before the traditional season opening in early June (June 6 this year). Generally speaking, May snowfalls do not contribute to the season’s snowpack unless they arrive in the last few days of the month. Is this the first major snow event of autumn 2026? Tasmania has already seen several significant snowfalls already this autumn, while the mainland saw an unseasonable snowfall in late March, but this will be the strongest system yet for the mainland in the 2026 autumn. Melbourne will feel the chill on Thursday with a maximum of just 12°C expected. Cool maximums will then persist right through to at least Sunday. Hobart can expect a top of just 13°C on Thursday, while Canberra is forecast to reach just 10°C, with snow likely on the nearby ranges and a frosty weekend to follow.
03 May 2026, 2:38AM UTC
Damaging winds and much-needed rain sweep southeast Australia
A strong cold front, trough and associated low are crossing southeast Australia today, Sunday, bringing scattered thunderstorms, strong to damaging winds and areas of moderate to heavy rain. The system follows a notably dry and warm end to April, with this event delivering some of the first meaningful rainfall to parts of the southeast in over a week. Rainfall totals have been modest overall, with western and central Victoria seeing the most widespread falls of 15 mm or more. Several sites recorded their highest May daily rainfall in 5 to 18 years, particularly around Edenhope and Longerenong. The highest total was 33.8 mm at Mount William, while South Australia saw lighter but still notable falls, with Mount Lofty recording 24.8 mm as the highest in that state. The following observations highlight the most significant 24-hour rainfall totals recorded to 9am Sunday across the southeast: Vic: • Mount William — 33.8 mm; • Longerenong — 22.2 mm (highest May daily rainfall in 9 years); • Edenhope — 22.0 mm (highest May daily rainfall in 18 years); • Hamilton — 20.6 mm (highest May daily rainfall in 6 years, and highest total overall since June 2025); • Horsham — 20.0 mm (highest May daily rainfall in 9 years); • Casterton — 19.8 mm (highest May daily rainfall in 7 years, and highest total overall since Dec 2025); • Charlton — 17.8 mm (highest May daily rainfall in 7 years); • Dartmoor — 16.8 mm (highest May daily rainfall in 6 years, and highest total overall since Dec 2025); SA: • Mount Lofty — 24.8 mm; • Moomba Airport — 17.6 mm; • Naracoorte — 17.2 mm (highest May daily rainfall in 18 years); • Parndana — 16.6 mm; • Kuitpo — 15.8 mm; Wind gusts have been strongest across alpine Vic and exposed coastal and elevated sites, with several locations recording gusts above 80 km/h in a gusty northerly to northwesterly flow ahead of the front. The peak gust reached 105.6 km/h at Mount Hotham, with multiple alpine sites exceeding 80 km/h, while SA also recorded locally strong gusts along coastal and elevated areas. Vic: • Mount Hotham — 105.6 km/h at 04:55 EST Sun 3 May; • Mount Buller — 90.7 km/h at 10:30 EST Sun 3 May; • Falls Creek — 83.3 km/h at 10:00 EST Sun 3 May; • Grampians (Mount William) — 83.3 km/h at 01:30 EST Sun 3 May; • Ben Nevis — 85.2 km/h at 04:30 EST Sun 3 May; NSW: • Thredbo AWS — 87.0 km/h at 12:30 EST Sat 2 May; • Thredbo AWS — 81.5 km/h at 06:00 EST Sun 3 May; SA: • Neptune Island — 96.3 km/h at 04:14 CST Sun 3 May; • Cape Borda — 83.3 km/h at 08:50 CST Sun 3 May; This rainfall is particularly welcome after a very dry and warm end to April, driven by a strong and slow-moving high pressure system centred over the Tasman Sea, which suppressed rainfall across much of the southeast. Image: Rainfall analysis from 23 April to 30 April 2026. Source: BoM. The mean sea level pressure loop for the last week of April highlights this pattern, with the persistent high in the Tasman Sea dominating the synoptic setup for several days. Image: Mean sea level pressure chart loop from 23 April 00 UTC to 30 April 00 UTC 2026. Source: BoM. Overall, April rainfall was well below average across large parts of the country, falling in the lowest 10% of all Aprils since 1900 for most of southeastern and eastern Australia. Image: Australian rainfall deciles for April 2026 (based on 1900–2026). Source: BoM. Looking ahead, the system will continue moving east, delivering more significant rainfall to central and eastern Vic and eastern NSW during Sunday and into Monday, with 40 to 80 mm possible, heaviest over elevated terrain. Strong winds and showers may linger into Tuesday across parts of Vic in the wake of the system.
02 May 2026, 4:41AM UTC
A taste of winter for Southeast Australia later next week
A brief spell of wintry weather is forecast to impact Tasmania, Victoria and southern NSW on Thursday 7th and Friday 8th from a blast of cold winds from the deep Southern Ocean. Cold SW winds and accompanying showers following the passage of a strong cold front overnight Wednesday will fall as snow during Thursday, down to low levels across the Victorian Alps, the Snowy Mountains and including Tasmania Highlands. With the freezing level set to hover around 1000 metres during Thursday, this could see snow falling to as low as 800 metres about Victoria and Tasmania. Image: Forecast of precipitation type for Thursday 7th at 10am AEST RA: Rain SN: Snow RASN: Wet Snow A second cold front early Friday will prolong the cold and gusty winds through the day with some further snowfall contracting to higher elevations across northeast Victoria and NSW's Snowy Mountains along with some snow flurries stretching into Saturday morning about the higher peaks. Across southwest Victoria, some snow showers are likely to fall across the higher peaks stretching from the Grampians to the Central Highlands and south across the Otway Ranges. However, don't reach for the skis or snowboards just yet. Snow accumulations across the two days should amount to approximately 10-20cm across the Victorian and New South Wales major resorts and about 3-8cm about the Tasmanian Central Plateau and the higher peaks in southwest Victoria. This should be ample snow cover for snow play, snowball fights and maybe a slide on a toboggan. Across the southeast of the country, capital cities and regional townships will feel the worst of the cold conditions during Thursday and to a slightly lesser extent on Friday, as showers and cold, gusty winds will bring an additional chill when outdoors. The cold, wet and windy conditions may also bring a Weather Warning for Sheep Farmers in Victoria, Tasmania and southern NSW. Similarly, the wet and cold conditions could make driving hazardous, especially if you are driving through the higher mountains – so take care and heed any official hazard warnings. Image: Driving in the snow – Australian Alps Credit: Chris Gordon Although still cool, temperatures across southeast Australia are forecast to increase later in the weekend with nearer to average temperatures for May likely for early next week.