Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane weather: Severe polar blast to strike

Freezing cold air from Antarctica will see Aussies shiver through a frosty weekend with a polar blast to bring icy winds and frigid temperatures.

The five-day cold snap will start along the east coast in NSW and Victoria before eventually making its way to Queensland on Saturday.

The Bureau of Meteorology has warned temperatures will be between two and eight degrees below average for this time of year.

Forecasters say the arrival of a strong high-pressure system in the Tasman Sea will trap the freezing air across the southeast until well into next week.

'The frigid air will be dragged from Antarctica by a cold front sweeping across the continent this weekend,' Weatherzone said.

'A high-pressure system will quickly follow in the front's path and remain over southern Australia until at least mid-next week, prolonging this cold outbreak.'

However, in good news for Sydneysiders an 11-day rain streak ended on Tuesday with a total of 58.6mm of rain recorded so far in July.

The longest rain streak observed in the city was in May 2024, when it rained for 14 days straight, with six days receiving 20mm or more.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, Sydney was treated to clear blue skies and relatively mild temperatures of 19C and 18C respectively. 

However, the arrival of Antarctic air will see temperatures plummet on Friday. 

Snow is tipped to fall across areas including NSW's Southern, Central and Northern Tablelands, the Blue Mountains, elevated parts of the ACT, Tasmania and the Victorian Alps and even the Granite Belt in Queensland's south. 

Sydney

A shower or two is expected on Friday, however the rain isn't expected to be as heavy or frequent as it has been in July to date, Weatherzone said. 

Sydney so far this year has seen four rainy streaks of five days or longer. 

There was 14 days of rain from May 1-14, 11 days from June 30 to July 9, five days from January 14 to to 18 and five days from March 15 to 19. 

Five out of six months in 2024 have exceeded the monthly average with June being the rainiest month so far this year with 368.4mm of rain falling. 

This was almost triple the long-term average of 131.7mm. 

Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Dean Narramore said Sydney could be in for a 'prolonged break' from the wet weather.

'Sunshine is finally returning not just to Sydney but the whole east coast,' he said.

'(The showers are) all gone now, the low that brought that weather has now moved off to Tasmania.'

Meanwhile, the NSW Central Tablelands are expected to see snow flurries at higher levels around 12,000m as early as Sunday or Monday. 

Melbourne

Victoria is in for a wet weekend with showers forecast for the rest of the week. 

Temperatures will struggle to climb over 15C on Friday with lows of just 5C. 

Meanwhile, snow is expected to fall over elevated areas outside the Victorian Alps with the arrival of a prolonged outbreak of freezing air from Antarctica. 

Brisbane

The state's southeast will receive showers and the possibility of storms on Thursday before a cool and dry weekend. 

Temperatures will remain below 24C with lows of 10C over the next few days before falling to just 8C next week with maximum temperatures in the low 20s. 

The cold snap comes after a thick blanket of fog developed over southeast Queensland Tuesday evening, with visibility at Brisbane Airport reduced to less than 200m on Wednesday morning.

Canberra

Temperatures will plummet in the nation's capital over the next few days with days to remain cloudy and cold as freezing Artic air is trapped by a low-pressure system. 

Elevated parts of the ACT,  including relatively low hills on the fringe of Canberra and perhaps even parts of the city itself, could see some snow over the next few days. 

Perth

Cold fronts moving through Western Australia are bringing widespread rain and showers with the potential for thunderstorms.

Temperatures will struggle to get over 20C in Perth with Saturday to receive some winter sun after a string of cloudy days.

Adelaide

Adelaide will receive some very cold conditions from Saturday amid an extended burst of cold air from Antarctica spreading across the southeast. 

A high-pressure system is expected to follow and linger over southern parts of the country for the next five days, prolonging the cold weather. 

Rain is also expected to fall over Adelaide for the next few days with maximum temperatures of 16C and lows of just 8C. 

Hobart

Tasmanians will shiver through yet another cold weekend as a low-pressure system moves from the east coast further down the country. 

Like Victoria and SA, Tasmania will receive cold gusty wind and rain. 

Temperatures in Hobart are expected to get as low as 3C on Sunday.

Darwin

Further north in the Northern Territory, conditions are fine and sunny. 

Temperatures will linger between 19C and 33C for the rest of the week.