Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra weather: Polar blast brings snow and heavy rain

Snow has fallen close to the Queensland border as a polar blast brings icy temperatures and heavy rain to the eastern states.

Snowfall was recorded at Tenterfield, in northern NSW, overnight - just 25km away from the border of the Sunshine State.

Possible light snow flurries are forecast across the Granite Belt region of Southern Queensland on Tuesday through to Thursday.

Weatherzone explained a cold air mass originating in Antarctic waters was to blame for the subzero temperatures sweeping the eastern states.

The chilly air will be accompanied by showers which could fall as snow on high ground above about 1,000 metres.

These cold conditions will bring cool days, frosty mornings and possible snow flurries for parts of NSW , inland Queensland, Victoria and Tasmania as well.

Victoria has the added threat of floods after heavy rain fell in parts of the state with a severe weather warning issued for the north-east.

The Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Miriam Bradbury said temperatures had been colder than usual across central and eastern parts of Australia.

Ms Bradbury said forecast maximums will be 'up to eight degrees below average' with Canberra 'struggling to push into the double digits'.

'[On Wednesday] our overnight temperatures will drop fairly low, through these inland parts of the east and central Australia,' Ms Bradbury said.

Snow flurries were recorded at Guyra, about 170km south of the Queensland border with NSW, on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, in NSW the heaviest snow is expected to shift from the southern ranges and alps to the central ranges by Tuesday morning.

The non-alpine falls include around Crookwell, Taralga, Oberon, Orange, Lithgow and possibly the Blue Mountains.

By Tuesday night, heaviest snow falls will shift again to the upper Hunter and Northern Tablelands, and possibly in Armidale, Guyra and Glen Innes.

An offshore low in the Tasman Sea will bring warm air on Wednesday which will restrict snowfalls back to the alps.

Severe weather warnings were issued for parts of Tasmania and Victoria this week, including damaging winds and possible flooding from heavy rain.

Senior meteorologist Jonathon How said southeastern regions of the country would bear the brunt of a low pressure system driving a 'cold snap' across the southeast, with strong winds hitting the areas overnight.

Wind gusts of 115km/h have already been recorded in Wilsons Promontory in Victoria and gusts of more than 100km/h were recorded across parts of Victoria and the northwestern Tasmanian coast.

Illawarra residents in NSW experienced gusts of more than 80km/h and those in the southeast of the state and regions near the ACT experienced rainfall totals of 20-40mm overnight.

Brisbane

The Sunshine State is set for a wintery blast for the start of the week, with maximum temperatures of up to 19C and winds of up to 45km/h.

Minimum temperatures will remain just below 10C for the rest of the week, but tops will reach the low 20s.

Sydney

Sydneysiders are in for a cold but mostly sunny week as maximum temperatures remain around the mid to high teens from Tuesday through to the weekend.

Minimum temperatures are expected to drop as low as 6C on Friday.

Possible showers are forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday, with up to 1mm of rain predicted on Tuesday and 4mm on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, large and powerful surf conditions are expected to be hazardous especially for those taking part in coastal activities such as rock fishing, swimming and surfing.

Canberra

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

Showers are forecast for Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday, with the heaviest falls over the weekend of up to 7mm of rain.

Minimum temperatures will drop to an icy -2C on Thursday and -3C on Friday.

Melbourne

Residents in Melbourne are in for a cold and wet week.

Heavy falls of up to 15mm is expected on Tuesday before easing to light showers from Wednesday through to the weekend.

Maximum temperatures will struggle to climb over 14C across the week, with lows of just 6C on the weekend.

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.

A severe weather warning was issued on Tuesday morning for people in parts of East Gippsland and North East Forecast Districts.

Damaging winds travelling south averaging 60 to 70km/h with peak gusts of around 90km/h are set to hit the Alpine areas of the north east above about 1,400metres.

Possible locations affected include Falls Creek and Mt Hotham, with the latter recording gale force winds of up to 93km/h at about 8am.

A watch-and-act warning has been issued for the Watts River in Victoria, and residents of Healesville are being urged to move to higher ground as moderate flooding is likely.

'The level of the Watts River at Healesville is at 3.11m, exceeding the minor flood level (2.80 metres) and rising,' the warning said.

'It is expected to peak around the moderate flood level (3.20m) early Tuesday morning 16th July.'

Flood warnings also remain in place for the Dandenong Creek, the Latrobe River, Yarra River, Bunyip River and parts of Gippsland, Central, South West and North East forecast districts in Victoria.

Hobart

Tasmanians will shiver through yet another week, as rain, gusty winds and icy temperatures lash the state.

Temperatures in Hobart are expected to drop as low as 3C on Friday and reach a high of just 11C for the week ahead.

Showers are forecast well into the weekend, with the wettest day set for Tuesday as up to 10mm of rain is expected to fall.

The Bureau of Meteorology issued a flood watch warning for parts of the state's north east, east coast, Huon, Dewent and south east catchments.

There are also minor flood warnings in place for the Clyde River, St Pauls River, Coal River and Huon River.

Adelaide

Adelaide is set for a cold and wet week as an extended burst of icy air from Antarctica spreads 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.

Maximum temperatures will remain in the mid-teens, while lows will alternate between 7C and 8C for the week.

Rain is forecast for Adelaide from Tuesday through to the weekend, with the heaviest falls on Friday with up to 15mm.

Perth

Sunny conditions are forecast for Tuesday before a cold front moves through the state bringing heavy showers.

Up to 6mm of rain is expected to fall on Wednesday before increasing to 40mm on Thursday.

Showers will continue into the weekend with up to 3mm of rain forecast for Friday and Saturday and 7mm of rain on Sunday.

Temperatures will struggle to get higher than 20C in Perth, with Friday being the coldest maximum temperature of 16C.

Minimum temperatures will hover between 7C and 12C from Wednesday through to the weekend.

Darwin

Meanwhile, residents in Darwin will escape the cold weather with sunny conditions and temperatures ranging between the high 20s and low 30s well into the weekend.

Minimum conditions will see some mornings drop to 14C and 15C.

ADELAIDE

Tuesday: Max 14C, possible shower. 0-1mm of rain.

Wednesday: Min 7C Max 14C, shower or two. 0-2mm of rain.

Thursday: Min 7C Max 14C, possible shower. 0-1mm or rain.

Friday: Min 8C Max 14C, possible shower. 4-15mm of rain.

Saturday: Min 8C Max 14C, showers. 0-5mm of rain.

MELBOURNE

Tuesday: Max 14C, showers. 4-15mm of rain.

Wednesday: Min 8C Max 14C, showers. 0-5mm of rain.

Thursday: Min 7C Max 12C, shower or two. 0-2mm or rain.

Friday: Min 6C Max 13C, showers. 1-4mm of rain.

Saturday: Min 7C Max 13C, shower or two. 0-13mm of rain.

SYDNEY

Tuesday: Max 16C, possible shower.  0-1mm of rain.

Wednesday: Min 9C Max 19C, shower or two. 0-4mm of rain.

Thursday: Min 9C Max 18C, slight chance of shower. 0-1mm or rain.

Friday: Min 6C Max 17C, mostly sunny. Chance of morning frost.

Saturday: Min 9C Max 18C, partly cloudy.

DARWIN

Tuesday: Max 32C, sunny.

Wednesday: Min 18C Max 30C, sunny.

Thursday: Min 15C Max 28C, sunny.

Friday: Min 14C Max 128C, sunny.

Saturday: Min 16C Max 31C, mostly sunny.

Source: Bureau of Meteorology

CANBERRA

Tuesday: Max 11C, shower or two. 1-5mm of rain.

Wednesday: Min 2C Max 13C, shower or two. 0-1mm of rain.

Thursday: Min -2C Max 12C, partly cloudy. Morning frost.

Friday: Min -3C Max 10C, partly cloudy. Morning frost.

Saturday: Min 2C Max 11C, showers. 1-7mm of rain.

HOBART

Tuesday: Max 13C, showers. 4-10mm of rain.

Wednesday: Min 7C Max 10C, shower or two. 0-2mm of rain.

Thursday: Min 5C Max 11C, shower or two. 0-4mm or rain.

Friday: Min 3C Max 11C, shower or two. 0-2mm of rain.

Saturday: Min 6C Max 11C, shower or two. 0-4mm of rain.

BRISBANE

Tuesday: Max 19, partly cloudy. Windy. Up to 45km/h.

Wednesday: Min 9C Max 17C, partly cloudy. Windy. Up to 40km/h.

Thursday: Min 9C Max 20C, partly cloudy.

Friday: Min 9C Max 21C, sunny.

Saturday: Min 9C Max 23C, sunny.

PERTH

Tuesday: Max 22C, sunny.

Wednesday: Min 11C Max 22C, showers. 0-6mm of rain.

Thursday: Min 11C Max 18C, heavy showers. 15-40mm of rain.

Friday: Min 7C Max 16C, shower or two. 0-3mm of rain.

Saturday: Min 8C Max 19C, shower or two. 0-3mm of rain.