Weekend of cold fronts to lash state

A SERIES of cold fronts will cross Tasmania this weekend, bringing wet, windy and cold conditions to the state.

Meteorologist Debbie Tabor said Tasmanians should prepare now for a wild few days which will also see low-level snowfall.

“After a stable week of weather under the influence of a high pressure system, we’ve now seen it move over the Tasman Sea and we’re getting a freshening north to north-easterly flow,” Ms Tabor said.

“Ahead is cold fronts and westerly winds so a cold front across Saturday morning, another one on Sunday afternoon and a cold front early on Monday.

“This will bring rain statewide for those days but particularly in the west on Saturday with the highest falls of 15 to 25mm.”

She said there would be possible thunderstorms on Saturday as well, with strong and gusty north-westerly winds on Sunday as another cold front crosses in the afternoon.

The strong and gusty northwesterly wind will shift westerly, with showers and rain in the morning and snow lowering to 800m.

“The winds will be very strong on Sunday – we are expecting some wind gusts to be up to 100km/h in parts,” Ms Tabor said.

“Particularly about the west and southwest early on Sunday extending to the southeast and the north in the morning and then the east and the northeast in the afternoon before easing.

“So it is highly likely we’ll have a severe weather warning for damaging winds getting up to around 100km/h in those parts for Sunday.”

Ms Tabor said another cold front would cross early on

Monday, with showers across the state – more frequent in the west. “(It will be) a very cold day with snow lowering to around 500m,” she said.

“There will be possible thunderstorms about and hail and another day of very strong westerly winds which will shift south-westerly in the afternoon. Twenty to 30mm of rainfall is expected to be the highest falls in the west … with snow to around 400m early on Tuesday.

“So it’s quite typical of a spring pattern transitioning from winter with a westerly stream dominating and some snow to lower levels.”

The bureau warned fourday rainfall totals to Monday evening would likely be 40-80mm in the west (with falls greater than 100mm possible about higher ground), 20-40mm in the north and 2-8mm in the east and southeast.