'Plenty of frost': Freezing conditions set to grip nation's east coast with snow on the way ahead of ski season
Winter is beginning to bite, with residents in some parts of the country having already braved cold and wet weather throughout the week.
Those in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, and Tasmania have been warned more is on the way, with Sky News Weather Presenter James Preston revealing "polar air" was set to stick around over Friday and beyond.
"High pressure is the dominant force, so that's allowing for very clear skies. So, all that upper air, the very cold upper air, continues to shift down all the way to ground level, mixed in with polar air coming from Antarctica and it's really been just drifting into the south-east of the country and even up as far as Queensland," he said.
"So very, very chilly conditions, ultimately the perfect conditions to ensure that we have that chill in the morning between the clear skies and the polar air as well, and as I mentioned it's not really going anywhere either."
Adelaide, Canberra, Hobart, Melbourne, and Sydney are all facing cold starts on Friday, with Preston explaining locals as far as parts of Western Australia could expect to see frost on the ground.
"There's also plenty of frost still floating about for Friday morning," he said.
"Tasmania is seeing it, Victoria, so too New South Wales up into Queensland, potentially even as far north as Mount Isa, and even locations in WA could see some frost, so that chill certainly sticking around into Friday and thereafter as well."
At higher altitudes, the freezing conditions also look set to produce the first substantive snowfalls ahead of this year's ski season.
Falls Creek is expected to receive 56cm of snow, with falls beginning Friday and continuing over the weekend, while Mount Buller is expected to see 47cm, Hotham 56cm, and Parishire and Thredbo 65cm.
In addition to the cold, Victorians are also facing the potential for "damaging winds" over Friday, as well as the chance of showers in the state's west.
"What we will see in addition to all of that chilly stuff and the frost floating about is damaging winds pushing through Victoria," Preston said.
"That begins Friday morning and it's going to extend from central locations further to the east and they are going to be quite wild at times as well."
According to the Bureau of Meteorology, damaging winds of between 50 and 65 km/h are possible from late Friday morning across parts of the Central, East Gippsland, North Central, North East, West and South Gippsland, and South West Forecast Districts.
Gusts may approach 100km/h in parts of the north-east ranges, before the blustery conditions ease overnight and dissipate over Saturday.
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