Buckle up & Hunker down Victorians, it’s gonna get very rough, & ferken cold.
Melbourne weather: Overnight snow could blanket suburbs – and one city landmark
July 12 2016 - 10:00AM
Daniella Miletic, Nick Toscano
With snow set to fall as low as 300 metres on Tuesday night, Glen Waverley, Croydon and Frankston could see some of the white stuff – as could the top of Eureka Tower.
The Bureau of Meteorology is forecasting that a powerful cold front moving through the state could dump snow as low as 300 metres on Tuesday night – certainly the lowest level this year, and possibly for several years.
Damaging winds in Melbourne
Melbourne braces for north westerly winds of up to 100km/h.
This means areas of higher ground close to Melbourne such as Mount Dandenong, Mount Macedon and the Yarra Ranges could be “waking up to a white-out” on Wednesday morning.
One meteorologist went one step further and outlined the edges of Melbourne she expected to be hit.
Channel Seven’s Jane Bunn predicted possible snow falls in areas such as Belgrave, Croydon, Glen Waverley, Park Orchards, Ringwood North, Cranbourne South, Frankston South, Langwarrin, Olinda and Vermont.
And it could even settle in the city.
With snow down so low there could, just possibly, be a dusting on the very top of 292-metre-tall Eureka Tower.
According to bureau forecaster Tom Fejes it would be unlikely due to the warmth from surrounding buildings, but he concedes it is also “not completely impossible”.
The snow is being fuelled by a freezing air mass from sub-Antarctic waters following a damaging cold front expected to smash Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania and South Australia by Tuesday evening.
“It’s certainly going to be cold enough for snow, it’s probably the lowest we have seen this year and maybe a couple of years,” Senior forecaster Stephen King said.
"We’ve had 500 or 600 metres a couple of times this year, but to get it down to 300 metres is a little unusual.
“But the only issue is whether or not we are going to get enough showers coming through to be able to produce that snow in the morning.”
Depending on rain, Mr King said it could be the best snow day of the year so far.
Meanwhile, the bureau has issued wind warnings for Tuesday and Wednesday.
The State Emergency Service is warning Victorians to be on the lookout for unexpected hazards such as black ice and fallen trees and to drive safely through the wet and slippery conditions.
So far, staff had received 50 requests for assistance, mostly for blown-down trees.
On Tuesday morning, commuters were hit with an icy blast – wind raced through the city and state as fast as 90 and 100 km/h – ahead of the powerful cold front charging towards the city.
The severe wind chill factor made it feel close to zero degrees in most areas.
The bureau expects hail and thunderstorms later in the day. The mercury is expected to hit double-digits, with 10 degrees the forecast maximum.
Rain, hail and thunderstorms are expected to hit the city on Tuesday evening, ahead of the cold front that is due to arrive some time overnight.
The temperature is expected to drop to an early morning low of five degrees in Melbourne on Wednesday, with a maximum of 11 degrees forecast.