A cold front will cause squally wind, showers and thunderstorms in South Australia today, with damaging gusts possible in some populated areas.

The front will sweep from west to east, crossing the Eyre Peninsula during the middle of the day, passing over central districts in the afternoon and reaching the Victorian border later this evening.

Northerly winds have been strengthening across the state this morning ahead of the approaching front, with gusts reaching  93km/h at Cape Willoughby shortly after 10am and 80km/h at Port Pirie.

As the front passes through, there will be a brisk westerly change accompanied by squally showers and storms. A severe weather warning has been issued for gusts in excess of 90 km/h across a large areas of the state's south, including Adelaide and the Mount Lofty Ranges.

The strongest winds are likely to occur near the front itself, particularly with any shower and thunderstorm activity. This is because the falling rain or thunderstorm downdrafts can provide an avenue for very strong winds aloft to flow down towards the surface.

Visit http://www.weatherzone.com.au/warnings.jsp for the latest warnings.