Icy cold snap grips Australia's southeast

Victoria and NSW faced widespread snow, rain and chilly winds on Sunday, but the worst is yet to come in parts of Queensland.

A child catches snow flakes

The cold snap sweeping across southeastern Australia will reach as far as the Sunshine State. (AAP)

A wintry blast has brought chilly temperatures, widespread snow and rain to Victoria and NSW, but some Queenslanders will feel the worst of it on Monday.

At least a dusting of snow fell along the Great Dividing Range from central Victoria to Tenterfield on the NSW-Queensland border as a cold front dragged frigid subpolar air across the continent on Sunday.

Sunday in Melbourne was the wettest July day in Victoria since 1990, with 27.4mm of rain in the city by 5pm.

Snow fell to 800 metres in Victoria and as low as 700 metres in NSW.

Five to 10cm of snow fell around Orange in the central west of NSW.

Alpine resorts faced a mid-winter reprieve from their slow season, with a dump of snow over the weekend and follow-ups of up to 10cm expected every day this week.

Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) NSW forecaster Helen Kirkup says temperatures were below average.

"The snow along the ranges has been significant," she said.

Ms Kirkup said it would be slightly warmer across NSW on Monday, with snow down to 1200m in the south, and dry in the north.

In Victoria, a strong low pressure system forming east of Gabo Island will drive more cold winds, rain and snow to southern and mountain districts on Monday, BOM Victoria senior forecaster Phil King said.

"Most of it will be in Gippsland in the next 24 hours, with falls ranging from 20mm in the west grading up to 100mm in the east," he said.

Flood watches are in place for East Gippsland rivers and for the Yarra and Bunyip rivers closer to Melbourne.

BOM Queensland forecaster Sean Fitzgerald said cold, dry air from the south would bring frost to inland areas from the Granite Belt up to the Atherton Tablelands.

There is a 20 per cent chance of snow in the Stanthorpe area in the Granite Belt, he said.

Brisbane is expecting a chilly top of 16C, but westerly winds of 30 to 45km/h will make it feel much colder.


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Source: AAP


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