Temperatures are set to drop several degrees below the January average in New South Wales and Victoria over coming days as southerly winds bring cooler air to both states.
The Bureau of Meteorology issued severe thunderstorm warnings for much of NSW on Wednesday with heavy rain, destructive winds and giant hailstones forecast.
A trough was generating thunderstorms along the NSW ranges and slopes and parts of the north coast.
The same cold front had earlier moved through Victoria where conditions were more settled by Wednesday afternoon.
But southerly winds behind the trough will bring cooler temperatures to both states from Thursday.
Gabrielle Woodhouse, a meteorologist at the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM), said the cooler weather would affect all of coastal NSW, with temperatures of between 2 and 8C below average expected in some areas.
“Along the coastal fringe it is going to remain fairly fresh so it will remain quite cool if you’re down by the beach,” she said.
The cooler weather will bring showery conditions to coastal areas and further thunderstorm warnings are likely for northern parts of the coast on Thursday.
Miriam Bradbury, a senior meteorologist at the BoM, said Victoria could expect similarly cool conditions on Thursday and Friday, with temperatures likely to drop 2 to 6C below average in some parts of the state.
Some rainfall is forecast in the Gippsland region but rainfall totals should remain low, with no more than 3 to 4mm expected over the next two days, Bradbury said.
She said although summer had taken a bit of a break, it would be short-lived with warmer air and conditions due to return to Victoria from Saturday.
“By Sunday it pushes into south-west NSW and early next week it should be in the remainder of NSW as well,” she said.
The BoM said on Wednesday the La Niña in the tropical Pacific was slowly weakening but atmospheric indicators remained at La Niña levels.
It said long-range forecasts suggested tropical Pacific Ocean temperatures would continue to warm towards El Niño–Southern Oscillation neutral levels over the coming weeks.
