Icy cold front set to chill much of Australia this weekend

The most powerful cold snap in three years is set to lash much of Australia from this weekend, bringing heavy rain and plunging the temperature down by as much as seven degrees in some regions.

The cold front is expected to reach Adelaide and Melbourne on Saturday morning before it hits NSW and southeast Queensland on Sunday morning.

Between 35mm and 50mm of snow will fall in alpine areas, as low as 600m in Victoria and NSW.

The Blue Mountains, the northern NSW tablelands and even south-eastern Queensland are a good chance of getting a dusting of snow.

Meteorologists said the system was a particularly cold one, with temperatures expected to plummet by five or six degrees in the eastern capitals.

“It’s definitely going to impact most of south-eastern Australia,” Tristan Meyers from Weatherzone said.

“This is one of the strongest setups we’ve seen since about 2012.

“It looks like it could be the strongest one in two or three years.”

Although the rain and snow might clear after the weekend, the relief might be shortlived for residents, with another front a possibility.

“The cold itself will linger around for a few days,” Mr Meyers said.

“We’ll definitely see a run of cold until at least the middle of next week.”

Mr Meyers said there was nothing unusual about the front other than it being especially severe.