Dig out the uggs: Cold snap to send Melbourne plunging to 6C as Sydney braces for a downpour and Canberra faces subzero temperatures
- Sydney battled through its coldest early May night in 51 years on Monday
- Melbourne will plunge to 6C as a high pressure system moves across the city
- Cold temperatures will also expand west into regional parts of NSW and the ACT
Australians are set to shiver as Melbourne plunges to just 6C and Sydney battles through its coldest early May night in 51 years.
Temperatures in both cities will plunge to single digits this week as a high pressure system moves over Victoria and New South Wales.
Meteorologist Joel Pippard from the Bureau of Meteorology told Daily Mail Australia a dry air mass, very light winds and clear skies are the recipe for a spate of chilly mornings.
Sydney plummeted to 7.8C on Monday morning - the coldest temperature recorded for the first half of May since 1969.
Australians are set to freeze as Melbourne struggles to get above 14C and Sydney battles through its coldest early May night in 51 years
Sydney could see up to 20mm of rain on Wednesday, with light showers on Thursday. Pictured: People walking through the rain in Sydney in March
'If we look at May as a whole, to get this cold this early is very unusual,' Mr Pippard said.
Temperatures will begin to warm up throughout the week with relatively warm autumn days of about 20C.
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The eastern suburbs of Sydney could see up to 20mm of rain on Wednesday, with light falls extending into Thursday.
Cold temperatures will also expand west into regional parts of NSW and the ACT.
Melbourne had its coolest morning of the year on Sunday with temperatures of 7.2C. Pictured: a woman in a face mask on a cold morning in Melbourne last week
Canberra will fall to -3C while Goulburn, south west of Sydney, will be the coldest place in the state with temperatures of -4.3 - seven degrees below average.
Melbourne had its coolest morning of the year on Sunday with temperatures of 7.2C, but will fall to 6C on Saturday morning.
'It's normal for Melbourne to be cooler at this time of year,' Mr Pippard said.
'Temperatures overnight will hover around single digits - about 7C on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Temperatures will hover around 20C during the day in Sydney this week. Pictured: Heavy rains effects Sydney CBD, Monday, March 9.
'The warmest night will be 9C on Tuesday, which is the average.'
He also said the clear skies mean there won't be much snow in the alpine areas of Victoria, including Thredbo and Perisher, until late next week.
Meanwhile, Mt Wellington in Tasmania could see flurries with lows of -2C.
South Australia will also see lower temperatures, with the mercury falling to 7C overnight on Wednesday.
