Parts of the Queensland Scenic Rim have seen snow for the first time in nearly a decade, while strong winds and cool temperatures continue to prevail across much of southeast Australia.
Light snow flurries have been forecast for the Granite Belt region of southern Queensland from Tuesday and are expected to continue until Thursday as temperatures drop below zero.
Spicers Peak Lodge in Maryvale, 130km southwest of Brisbane, released footage of snowfall on the hotel grounds for the first time in nearly 10 years.
“Snowfall! A few hours ago we were lucky enough to see snow for a few minutes,” the hut operators posted on Facebook.
“The last time we experienced this was on July 17, 2015, almost exactly nine years ago.”
On Wednesday morning, temperatures reached -0.4°C in Oakey, west of Toowoomba, while they fell to -1.2°C in nearby Dalby.
On Tuesday, Brisbane experienced its coldest morning in over a year, with temperatures reaching 7.4°C just before 6am.
Nearly 20,000 homes and businesses in the southeastern part of the state were reportedly without power on Tuesday as strong winds knocked down trees and downed power lines.
Wind gusts of up to 60 to 70 km/h swept across much of the southeast and Brisbane, with the strongest winds reaching 72 km/h in Archerfield.
The “stormy winds” are caused by a low-pressure area in the Tasman Sea and a “tight pressure gradient between the low-pressure area and a high-pressure area currently in the bay,” according to Weatherzone.
Several wind warnings have been issued for NSW, with gale warnings in effect for the Illawarra Coast, Batemans Coast and Eden Coast.
A strong wind warning has also been issued for the Byron Coast, Macquarie Coast, Hunter Coast and Sydney Coast.
Strong winds will continue into Wednesday as the low pressure system lingers off the New South Wales coast, but are likely to ease from Thursday before a strong cold front reaches the region later in the week.
While cool weather, showers and wind are expected to ease in Tasmania, Victoria, New South Wales and southern Queensland from Thursday, wet weather is expected to return.
“Most places will see some clearing on Thursday, but this will not last long – the next period of rain is expected to reach Vic, SA and Tasmania on Friday, with other areas over the weekend,” the Bureau of Meteorology said.
In Western Australia, a strong cold front is expected to bring wet and windy weather to southern parts of the state on Wednesday and Thursday.
“Heavy rainfall is possible in the western districts. Isolated gusty thunderstorms may occur near the coast between Perth and Albany,” the bureau said.
Rain is expected to ease in the region from Friday onwards.