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Wild windy weather system to lash southern Australia

Source Weatherzone Wed 08 Apr 2026

A deep low pressure system associated with a polar airmass is lurking over the Southern Ocean below Western Australia, and it’s set to dominate the weather in southern and southeastern Australia for the remainder of this week. As this large, dynamic system surges northwards, it will deliver rain and storms, strong winds, heat, then cold temperatures, with autumn snowfalls due by the weekend in parts of Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania. Weatherzone meteorologist Yoska Hernandez flagged this system on Easter Monday. Now that it's almost upon us, let’s break down some of its likely effects. Strong winds In systems like this, winds tend to be strongest ahead of the main cold front, due to the sharp pressure gradient (rapid change in air pressure over a relatively short distance), as dense cold air forces warm air upwards. The first cold front is due over the southeast on Friday morning, which is why widespread wind gusts of 89 km/h or higher (the purple areas) can be seen below on Friday morning’s chart. Image: Predicted maximum wind gusts 10m above ground level for SE Australia at 10am on Friday, April 10, 2026, according to the ECMWF model. Source Weatherzone. Rain and storms Rain and storms are already crossing southern parts of South Australia in an upper-level trough ahead of the main system this Wednesday. Whether the parks and gardens of Adelaide get a decent and much-needed drink remains to be seen. After a desperately dry summer with just 17.8mm of rainfall in total in three months, Adelaide had 37.8mm in March, which beat the monthly average. Image: Combined radar and satellite loop for the Adelaide area for the two hours to 11:30am (ACST) on Wednesday, April 8, 2026. Source: Weatherzone. But the city did poorly for rainfall in March compared to many parts of South Australia, which had near-record or record-breaking totals in what was the state’s 2nd-wettest March on record. On Wednesday morning, Adelaide’s mythical "rain shield" deflected heavy showers both north and south of the city. As we write this story, a direct hit looks likely. Meanwhile, showers and storms will spread east on Wednesday evening into Thursday with the pre-frontal trough. Severe thunderstorms will be possible across parts of southern SA, Vic and southern NSW, especially on Thursday. We’ll keep you updated if any severe weather warnings arise. Rising temperatures Temperatures will rise well into the 20s across most of Victoria on Thursday, with maximums in the low 30s in the state’s far northwest and in western NSW, as the engine of the Southern Ocean low drags warm air southwards from Australia’s interior. The east coast usually sees some of the hottest temperatures in these events, and so it will prove this Friday, with Sydney heading for an unseasonably warm April maximum of 33°C or 34°C. The city’s hottest April day on record was 35.6°C on April 9, 2018. Image: Predicted maximums in NSW and nearby areas on Friday, April 10, 2026, according to the ECMWF model. Source: Weatherzone. Snow and cold Snow could fall as low as low as 700 or 800 metres by Friday in Tasmania, with snow showers persisting into the weekend. On the mainland, most of the moisture in this system is projected to arrive just ahead of the coldest air, with only a few Saturday snow showers to follow above around 1400m. In the dry and stable cool airmass that settles over the southeastern mainland from Sunday onwards, the coolest minimums of 2026 to date can be expected in many areas, with light frosts possible in Canberra as the mercury nears zero overnight. - Weatherzone © Weatherzone 2026