Take a look at the composite satellite and radar image at 11 am (AEST) Thursday. That, right there, is one seriously active cold front crossing South Australia, Victoria, and Tasmania.

Ahead of the front, dangerous winds have developed, with gusts exceeding 114 km/h at three Tasmanian weather stations and a strongest gust of 133 km/h at Maatsuyker Island in the early hours of the morning.

AUSTRALIA'S MOST CONSISTENTLY WINDY PLACE? OUR 2021 STORY ON MAATSUYKER ISLAND

Along the line of the front (which is the boundary between warm and cool air), a narrow line of heavy showers has formed, with some storms developing in the cold air along a trough following the cold front. The showers stretch all the way from Ceduna on SA's West Coast to the southeast tip of Tasmania.

As we write this story, a brief but heavy downpour could potentially strike Melbourne around lunchtime as the front moves through, so if you work indoors, it might be a day for lunch at your desk.

Behind the front is the telltale speckled airmass over the Great Australian Bight which is an indicator of very cold air.

WHY IS COLD AIR IN THE BIGHT SPECKLED? OUR STORY FROM AUGUST 2022

The cold air will make its way across southeastern Australia this afternoon and evening, extending into central and northern NSW by Friday, with the chance of some light late-autumn snowfalls in those areas.

The Victorian Alps and Snowy Mountains of NSW should see brief but heavy snow from Thursday afternoon and evening into Friday morning, with the chance of 10 to 15 cm on the ground by daylight tomorrow above about 1000 metres.

This will be the third significant snow event of May to date, and while previous falls have largely melted, leaving only a patchy cover at the highest elevations, this current system has the potential to lay down a light base that will help guarantee at least some skiing (along with snowmaking) on the official snow season opening on June 10.

Image: The May 25 snow cover in The Basin at Thredbo, with Australia's highest ski lift, Karels T-Bar in the background, peaking at 2037 m above sea level. Source: ski.com.au.