Blustery winds in the wake of a cold front have continued to drive rain over much of Tasmania, with more rain on the way in the coming week. 

A strong cold front dumped up to 50-70mm of rain in the 24 hours to 9am Saturday. Strong, unstable NW/W winds blasted the Apple Isle on Saturday and into Sunday morning, with elevated and exposed coastal parts gusting to 60-70km/h. These winds drove further showers over much of the state, with widespread falls of 10-20mm in the west. Northwest parts had the highest totals, recording 30-40mm in the 24 hours to 9am on Sunday, including 40mm at Mt Read. Falls were lighter in the east with just 1mm falling at Hobart.  

Strong northwesterly winds will continue on Sunday and Monday, before gaining strength early on Tuesday as a cold front edges closer. Wind gusts are likely to exceed 80km/h and may approach 100km/h over elevated and coastal areas during Tuesday evening and early Wednesday morning.

These unstable winds will bring further rain with them. On Sunday, widespread totals of 10-20mm in the west are likely, with isolated falls of 30-40mm. Falls will be lighter on Monday and mostly below 10mm in the west and north, whilst it will be mostly dry in the east. As the front begins to march across the state from late Tuesday and early Wednesday, falls will become heavier once again. Widespread totals of 20-40mm are likely in the west. Hobart will escape the heaviest rain with 5-10mm likely to reach the gauge.   

Image: Accumulated rainfall between Sunday May 1st and Wednesday May 4th according to the ECMWF model.

This vigorous cold front will also bring a frigid airmass with it, this will see snow fall to around 900m above sea level on Wednesday and Thursday. 

This pool of cold air is then expected to fuel the development of a low-pressure system to the east of Tasmania. Depending on the location of the low, this may cause another burst of rain and wind over eastern parts of the state before it moves away over the weekend.