Friday could be Canberra's coldest day on record this early in autumn.

A combination of clouds, showers and a wintry air mass will cause a bitterly cold day in Canberra on Friday.

The city is forecast to reach a top of seven degrees, although most of the day will feel even colder than this due to a biting wind chill.

If Canberra stays under 8.2ºC on Friday, this will be the city's coldest day on record this early in the season.

Prior to 2020, Canberra's earliest autumn day below eight degrees occurred on May 3rd, 1944, when the mercury only reached 7.2 degrees. Data for Canberra is available back to 1939.