A vigorous low is generating intense winds, showers and snow over parts of southeastern Australia this weekend.

Wind gusts of over 80km/h have been reached in South Australia, Victoria and NSW today as cold air from the Southern Ocean barrels into our southern states, dries up and spins into the east. Gusts of wind have already reached 124km/h at Hogan Island (Flinders Island - Furneaux Group), 109km/h at Wilson Promontory (West and South Gippsland, Victoria), 87km/h at Cape Nelson (South West, Victoria), Perisher Valley (Snowy Mountains, NSW) and Bellambi (Illawarra, NSW).

While intense wind gusts have already been recorded, conditions are expected to get more dramatic over the remainder of today and into Sunday for NSW and eastern Victoria. The movement of this low pressure system further east of Tasmania will intensify winds from the W/SW for these parts of the country. Sustained winds reaching upwards of 50km/h, with gusts reaching 90-100km/h are possible across exposed and elevated areas.

Along with these strong winds, moisture from the Southern Ocean will fall as showers over coastal parts of southwest Victoria, and as snow over alpine areas. Total falls of 20-30mm are possible over the coming 24 hours in the areas near Warrnambool and Apollo Bay. Snow levels across alpine resorts may also see upwards of half a metre increase in depth, however, heavy snowfall with strong winds will bring dangerous blizzard conditions, reducing visibility and making roads slippery.

While winds may remain quite fresh across coastal parts of NSW on Monday morning, continued movement of this low towards New Zealand will help ease conditions into next week. To stay up to date with current weather warnings, please visit: https://www.weatherzone.com.au/warnings.jsp