Winter is on its way with major cities set to feel the chill over coming weekend

There's still several weeks until winter kicks off in Australia, but major cities are expected to get an early taste of chilly weather this weekend.

The southern states, including NSW, the ACT, Victoria and Tasmania are likely to have a particularly cold weekend, making for the perfect conditions to stay indoors.

NSW and the ACT

Saturday could see temperatures drop below average for the month in NSW and the ACT, with a low of 13C forecast in Sydney and 14C on Sunday.

Areas along the coast are still expected to have a sunny weekend with maximum temperatures in the low 20s, however Newcastle and Wollongong could both drop to just 12C.

Armadale and Bega will see some very cool temperatures of just 7C and 9C while Orange is expected to drop to 3C on Saturday and Canberra is expected to drop to 4C on Friday and Saturday nights.

Victoria

Melbourne is already seeing particularly cool temperatures, with a major drop expected to hit tomorrow brining a minimum of just 10C.

The  low temperatures are forecast to continue for at least the following five days, with rain also forecast on Monday.

Mildura, Horsham, Bendigo and Seymour are also headed for a cold and cloudy weekend with a low of 8C and maximum temperatures not exceeding 17C.

Wangaratta, Ballarat and Latrobe Valley could drop even further to a low of 7C.

Queensland and the Northern Territory

The northern parts of the country are forecast to have a sunny and mild weekend with most areas predicting average temperatures for April.

Brisbane could feel a slight chill with a minimum temperature of 16C on Saturday.  

Toowoomba is expected to have the lowest temperature over the weekend with a forecast low of 12C.

Most areas of the Northern Territory are headed for another hot weekend with temperatures likely to remain in the low to mid 30s on Saturday and Sunday .

Darwin's temperatures could drop to 25C Saturday and Sunday.  

South Australia and Western Australia

Adelaide is expected to have a cool weekend with a low of 13C and a top of 19C on Saturday.

Showers and lows of 11C are forecast in multiple areas around the state including Keith, Renmark and Clare.

Perth is also in for cool remainder of the week and weekend, with a low of 15C on Saturday but warming up slightly to a low of 17C on Sunday.  

Bunbury, Albany and Northam are also forecast to have a cooler than average weekend with lows of 13C on Saturday.

Tasmania

Temperatures around Tasmania will continue to fall into the weekend with the majority of the state forecast to experience lows of 7C on Saturday.

Hobart will be cloudy with a low of 8C and a maximum of 14C.

Burnie will be particularly cold with a low of 6C and a top of just 13C.