A cold front that originated in Western Australia will bring strong to damaging winds to south-east Australia this weekend.
The second of two systems to affect south-eastern states this week moved into South Australia late Friday.
The strong wind system is forecast to continue tracking east over the weekend, bringing potentially dangerous conditions to SA, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory.
Weatherzone meteorologist Ben Domensino explained the weather is being driven by a cold front moving from west to east and worsened by pressure systems.
‘This front will be embedded in a tight pressure gradient between a deep low pressure system to the south of Australia and a large high pressure ridge across central Australia,’ he said.
‘The result of this dangerous synoptic pattern will be widespread strong to gale force winds across parts of SA, Vic, Tas, NSW and the ACT between Friday and Sunday.’
Strong to damaging winds are forecast to affect South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania on Saturday (pictured, wind forecast for Saturday)
West to southwesterly winds are expected to hit eastern states on Saturday as the front approaches.
‘Damaging wind gusts are likely to occur ahead of, with and behind this cold front,’ Mr Domensino explained.
Sydney is set to see a sunny day on Saturday but with possibly damaging winds.
Wind speed could reach 45km/h by midday while forecasts for the afternoon range between 35 to 50km/h.
Canberra will also see wind but with a very high chance of showers from late morning through to the late afternoon.
Wind speeds are forecast to reach between 30 and 45km/h during the day and 25 to 40km/h in the evening.
In NSW, severe weather warning for damaging winds has been issued for the Illawarra, Snowy Mountains and parts of Mid North Coast, South Coast, Central Tablelands, Southern Tablelands, ACT, Northern Tablelands, Hunter and South West Slopes.
Showers caused by a cold front are expected to hang over Melbourne, Canberra and Adelaide on Saturday
The Bureau of Meteorology warned severe winds would likely develop on Saturday and persist through to Sunday.
Adelaide and Melbourne are expected to see the windiest weather over the weekend.
Showers are forecast to hang over Adelaide through to Monday with westerly wind speed ranging from 30 to 45km/h, decreasing to 20 to 30km/h in the late afternoon.
The wind forecast for Sunday is similar but there is a chance of a thunderstorm in the hills and southern suburbs in the morning and afternoon.
A severe weather warning for damaging wind on Saturday was issued for the Mount Lofty Ranges, Kangaroo Island, Murraylands, Upper South East, Lower South East and parts of Flinders, Mid North, Riverland and North East Pastoral districts.
Melbourne is also set for a soggy weekend with showers on Saturday and Sunday.
Several marine gale and strong wind warnings have been issued in NSW, Victoria and SA
A chance of a thunderstorm coupled with expected damaging winds is forecast for Saturday with northwesterly wind speed possibly reaching 50km/h in the middle of the day before turning westerly 30 to 45km/h in the early afternoon.
A severe weather warning for damaging winds in Victoria on Saturday was issued for the Central, South West, West and South Gippsland, Wimmera and parts of East Gippsland, North Central, North East and Northern Country Forecast Districts.
Wind speed is expected to be slightly lower on Sunday with forecasts ranging from 25 to 40km/h.
Showers are forecast to hang around Hobart through to late next week.
The Tasmanian capital will also feel the effects of the cold front system with northwesterly winds reaching 40km/h on Saturday before dropping to between 25 and 35km/h in the afternoon.
Brisbane residents will feel some of the system’s wind but avoid the rain.
Sunny conditions in Brisbane are forecast to stay through to next week.
Light winds with speeds from 20 to 30km/h are forecast early Saturday afternoon.
The weather is looking gloomier out west in Perth with showers forecast through to next Friday.
Saturday’s showers are expected to reach the city during the afternoon and evening.
It’s the complete opposite news for Darwin with a sunshine-filled weekend ahead.
Temperatures in the Northern Territory capital are expected to reach 34C on Saturday with southeasterly winds becoming light in the evening.
Chair lifts could be closed in alpine ski resorts on Saturday due to strong winds travelling up to 100km/h
Over in the south-east alpine regions, Weatherzone meteorologist Anthony Sharwood warned ski resorts may not be celebrating the latest cold front wind.
‘It’s good news because the winds will be accompanied by heavy snowfalls. The period from Friday afternoon to Saturday afternoon looks like bringing the heaviest snowfalls of winter 2023 to date,’ he said.
‘The bad news is that winds will make it pretty unpleasant on the slopes as many lifts will likely be placed on wind-hold.’
He explained the chair lifts to the top of ski slopes cannot operate in high wind.
‘It’s a pretty safe bet that you’re going to have closures once winds get up towards 70 or 80km/h at the exposed top stations of the higher lifts,’ he said.
‘Sustained winds speeds look likely to reach that range this weekend, especially on Saturday, while gusts could well exceed 100km/h.’
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk