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Ben Domensino, 02 May 2018, 2:21 AM UTC

Wintry blast sweeping across southern Australia

Wintry blast sweeping across southern Australia
It's going to be a wintry end to the week in southern Australia as blustery winds, rain and thunderstorms sweep across multiple states. An intense low pressure system passing to the south of the country will cause a series of troughs and fronts to pass over SA, Victoria, Tasmania and southern NSW between Wednesday and Friday. Unlike many of the frontal systems that have crossed southern Australia so far during autumn, this one should bring a decent drop of rain, along with lightning, hail and alpine snow. In SA, a band of rain and thunderstorms will cross the state from west to east between Wednesday morning and Thursday afternoon, reaching Adelaide overnight. As this rainband clears, showers, storms and brisk westerly winds will continue over the state's south from Thursday afternoon into Friday morning, with small hail possible in some areas. Rainfall totals from this event should amount to 10-40mm in the state's south, which will be a welcome change after a dry start to the year in Adelaide. The city's West Terrace rain gauge only received 28.6mm during the first four months of 2018, which is well below the site's January-to-April average of 108.5mm. In addition to the rain and thunderstorms, southern parts of South Australia will also experience their coldest weather so far this year. Friday's forecast top of 18 degrees in Adelaide would be its lowest maximum temperature since November. Looking further east, the initial band of rain will move over Tasmania, Victoria and southern NSW between Thursday afternoon and Friday morning. As this rainband moves out into the Tasman Sea later later on Friday, cold westerly winds will maintain blustery showers across exposed areas of the nation's southeast. Parts of northern and western Tasmania and the ranges in northeast Victoria and southeast NSW could see rainfall totals of 20-40mm by the end of Friday. At least some of this rain will fall as snow in the alps when the coldest air moves over during Friday. Another, weaker front will bring another burst of lighter showers to the far southeast on Saturday, before calmer conditions return on Sunday underneath a large high pressure system. Visit http://www.weatherzone.com.au/warnings.jsp for the latest weather warnings during the next few days.
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