Taking a look at the last hour or so of radar imagery, we can see that the front is now moving into western Victoria with this line of showers and thunderstorms pushing eastwards. We're still continuing to see some showers both ahead of and behind the front. And it's likely that we'll continue to see very windy conditions around this system as well. Because of that hazard, we do have a severe weather warning for damaging winds current and it covers four separate states: South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales, and parts of Tasmania.
Now, we are likely to see the wind risk continuing through South Australia today, including about the Adelaide metro area, easing later this evening. For Victoria and New South Wales, the risk of damaging winds will ramp up through the day today, including across the Melbourne metro area, likely not easing until sometime on Saturday. For Tasmania, our warning area covers King Island and the Great Western Tiers. And that risk is from later this evening going into the overnight period. Where those strong winds combine with snow, we may see blizzard conditions, particularly likely across the eastern alpine areas of Victoria and south-east New South Wales.
So, exactly how low will that snow level fall? Well, the coldest air is going to move in late Friday into early Saturday. So, that's when the snow level will be lowest. We're expecting it to drop down to 600 or 700 m through Victoria, south-east South Australia, southern and central New South Wales, down to 900 m about the northern tablelands of New South Wales, and as low as 300 to 500 m across Tasmania. That means snow for many of our usual areas, but also at a few places which don't often see it. Flurries are possible about the Flinders and Mount Lofty ranges of South Australia, about the Victorian Central Ranges, and also about the central and Northern Tablelands of New South Wales.
Key hazards over the next couple of days include the risk of fallen trees and tree limbs as those strong winds rip through that could lead to damage of cars and property, and also possible power outages. Those blizzards may produce white out conditions about our alpine regions, particularly later today going into tomorrow. And of course, this could lead to dangerous driving conditions across the weekend. For many communities, it will be very exciting to see snow in the last weekend of August, but it is worth remembering that this is still a severe weather event and dangerous conditions are anticipated.
Taking a quick look at how it will play out, our cold front sweeps across the eastern states through today into early tomorrow. Showers, isolated storms, and small hail are expected across our south-eastern states. Generally, moderate rainfall totals are expected, particularly about our elevated areas and the exposed coast through the south-east. We could see some river rises, particularly across parts of northern Tasmania, where we've already got a number of minor flood warnings in place and through parts of Victoria. It's also worth noting that the strong southerly flow behind the front may generate some hazardous surf for parts of the New South Wales coast through the weekend.
After that, we are likely to see conditions gradually easing off, particularly through the later part of Saturday into Sunday. Winds will ease back, snow level will gradually rise, and some showers may persist, but it's mainly going to be about our southern coastal areas. So, the key risk time really is today into tomorrow. You can always find the latest forecasts and warnings via the Bureau's website, the BOM Weather app, and via our social media. Stay safe, and we'll catch you next time.
Video current: 12.30 pm AEST Friday 29/08/2025.
