Australia Weather News

Melburnians are shivering through what is forecast to be the coldest summer day in nearly 30 years, while there is snow in Victoria's Alpine region as a cold snap hits the state.

The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said maximum temperatures across Victoria today would be 8 to 12 degrees Celsius below the December average.

Duty forecaster Michael Ephron said today's high of 15C would be Melbourne's coldest start to summer since 1996, and it would feel colder thanks to the wind chill.

"That wind from the south-west can be quite strong and gusty at times. It will actually make the 'feels like' temperature around 8 or 9 degrees for much of the day," he said.

"For those Alpine centres, we're looking at top temperatures of around 1 or 2 degrees in places like Mt Baw Baw, Falls Creek, Mt Bulla and Mt Hotham.

"A wintry blast for the first day of summer."

The good news for those who like summer to feel like summer is that it is forecast to be a short-lived cold snap, with showers easing on Tuesday and temperatures rising to 29C on Wednesday and 32C on Thursday.

"We are expecting a return to more normal conditions as we head into the rest of December and through into next year as well," Mr Ephron said.

"We are likely to see maximum temperatures during summer a little bit above average and also a slightly increased chance of wetter conditions as well.

"We're certainly not expecting to see these wintry conditions continuing throughout the rest of the season."

The cold start to the day took some people walking the streets of Melbourne by surprise.

"It's my first time in Melbourne and I was not expecting this cold weather," one man said.

A woman visiting from Western Australia said the frosty weather was not a great advertisement for Victoria.

"It's way too cold for an Australian summer. We're going back to where it's warm tomorrow, back to Perth," she said.

The BOM also said Victoria experienced its wettest November since 1992, recording 128 millimetres of rainfall.

More snow hits Victoria's slopes

The frigid temperatures have seen snow blanket Victoria's alpine regions, with the BOM saying snow could fall as low as 1,100 metres in some areas.

In addition to the cold weather, there will be extensive showers in southern and mountain areas and the risk of thunderstorms.

At Mt Buller, fresh snowfall covered the landscape, continuing what has been a particularly snowy winter and spring.

"It is pretty crazy to be experiencing weather like this, minus 1 degrees — it feels like it's minus 5," Mt Buller spokesperson Rhylla Morgan said

"It's been a bit of a funny spring. We've had snow almost once a week since the season closed at the beginning of October."