An unseasonably cold air mass will hit southeastern Australia this weekend, causing summer snow to settle in parts of Tasmania.

The satellite images below show a huge area of speckled cloud to the south of Australia on Friday. This cloud pattern, which is more commonly seen in winter than summer, reveals that a cold air mass is moving from the Southern Ocean towards Australia.

Image: Visible satellite image showing speckled cloud to the south of Australia on Friday.

The frigid air was already starting to spread over parts of southern Australia on Friday, although the coldest air will arrive this weekend as a winter-like southerly airstream becomes stablished between a high pressure system centred over the Bight and a low over the Tasman Sea.

Temperatures should get cold enough in Tasmania for snow to fall in elevated areas of the state this weekend. Snow will most likely be confined to areas above about 1000m elevation in central, southern and western Tasmania.

Image: Liawenee is one of the places with snow on the forecast on the Weatherzone app this weekend.

Mount Wellington might see a light dusting of snow on Saturday, while Hobart is only forecast to reach tops of 16°C both days this weekend.

Victoria will also feel the arrival of colder air this weekend, which will come as a big change from the three days over 31°C that occurred in Melbourne between Tuesday and Thursday. The city is only forecast to reach 18°C on Saturday and Sunday.

Image: Forecast 850hPa wind and temperature on Saturday, showing cold southerly winds flowing over southeastern Australia.

This weekend's cool change will also bring showers that should help extinguish some of the fires burning in western Tasmania. Unfortunately, the state will also experience blustery winds, which may exacerbate any fires that aren’t put out by the rain.

Visit https://alert.tas.gov.au/ for the latest updates on fires in Tasmania over the next few days.