East coast low: South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales weather warnings

HOW cold is it in Australia’s south?

It’s so cold that experts have issued a warning to sheep graziers that their little lambs might not make it through the day.

The Bureau of Meteorology in South Australia sent the warning out shortly before 6am on Tuesday. It warned graziers in the Mount Lofty Ranges, Lower Eyre Peninsula, Yorke Peninsula and Kangaroo Island that freezing temperatures and gale force winds could lead to “losses of lambs and sheep”.

It’s a sombre warning about the cold but the bureau is also warning a big wet is on its way. The rain in parts of the state on Tuesday comes after Adelaide recorded its wettest July day since 1975.

The bureau said a low pressure system would carry wind gusts topping 100km/h at Cape Willoughby and coastal suburbs of Adelaide.

Residents there have been asked to move vehicles under cover and stay indoors while conditions remain severe.

The cold front is also impacting much of Australia’s east coast where Hobart, Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney and Brisbane are experiencing a soggy start to the week. Those conditions won’t ease until Friday at the earliest.

The weather system is causing chaos in Adelaide and much of South Australia. The State Emergency Service responded to more than 165 call outs overnight alone.

The bad news is that same system is making its way towards Victoria and New South Wales.

“With the cold front approaching, a low pressure system over the land is spinning up and developing and the cloud bank coming from that will bring most of the rain to Sydney,” Bureau of Meteorology duty forecaster Ed Boyles told news.com.au.

The east coast low set to make conditions miserable for much of NSW is the third low in five months, however the rain won’t be as severe as the downfall that flooded parts of Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne last month.

“It’s not expected to be like (that),” Mr Boyles said. “It won’t be widespread gales and rainfall (in Sydney) but there could be high rainfall figures on the NSW/Victorian border.”

Canberrans shivered through a chilly start to Tuesday with temperatures hovering between 2C-4C. Temperatures dropped to 6C in Sydney and 8C in Melbourne.

Out to sea, experts have issued ocean wind warnings for rough seas. The bureau said maximum waves could be twice their normal height.

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