Sydney shivers as cold front brings fierce winds to multiple states

Winter has returned to Sydney today as a cold front continues to menace a number of states.

The mercury dipped to nine degrees in Sydney this morning as runners took to the city's annual City2Surf.

The temperature is not expected to climb higher than 18 degrees today.

It comes after Penrith, Holsworthy and Richmond in Sydney’s west recorded the warmest August in three years yesterday with temperatures hitting 26 degrees.

Melbourne, Perth, Canberra and Hobart are not much luckier today, reaching lows of five, four, -1 and three respectively.

Brisbane and Darwin, however, look set to defy the season as they reach maximums of 24 and 32 degrees today.

Marine wind warnings have meanwhile been issued for all states except the Australian Capital Territory.

Melbourne caught the brunt of the cold front Friday night as it was hammered with heavy rain and hail.

The wild weather marked a dramatic shift from recent warm weather.

It was the wettest day Melbourne had experienced since June 17, the Bureau of Meteorology reports.

Tasmania was also lashed by a cold front today, bringing with it strong blasts of wind, rain and snow.

Rainfall was heaviest in the western half of the state with Strathgordon collecting 16mm at 9am.

The snow also triggered a road weather alert for some areas where roads were slippery with ice and snow. 

There was also isolated rainfall over parts of NSW yesterday, with snowfall expected for the central tablelands region throughout the day..