Wednesday, 11.13am:
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A SEVERE weather warning remains in place in parts of the state, including the central and north central forecast districts.
The Bureau of Meteorology said a cold and unstable west to southwesterly airflow would persist across the state today.
Maryborough and Daylesford are among the towns in the warning area, where damaging winds with peak gusts of about 90 kilometres an hour are possible.
Thunderstorms and heavy showers might accompany the damaging winds.
The bureau said blizzard conditions might be experienced at times over alpine areas until late afternoon.
The risk was expected to diminish late in the afternoon.
The State Emergency Service advised that people should:
- Move vehicles under cover or away from trees;
- Secure or put away loose items around your house, yard and balcony;
- Keep clear of fallen power lines;
Wednesday, 9.21am:
MOUNT Macedon has a thin layer of snow to show for the cold snap sweeping the state.
Top of the Range Tea Rooms owner Luke Chapman said the light dusting at the summit, where the cafe is, could almost be mistaken for thick frost.
"It's not anything you could pick up," he said of the snowfall.
But the promise of snow had people excited, all the same.
"Once word gets out it's going to snow we get an increase in visitation," Mr Chapman said.
That included visitors to the cafe's website, which features a snow cam. The site has received about 14,000 hits since the start of the week, approximately 1000 of which are from this morning.
Bureau of Meteorology duty forecaster Tom Delamotte said there was a gap in shower activity, with snow expected down to elevations of about 600 metres today.
He said the coldest air of this system was moving up over southern Victoria.
"Across the central ranges we should see snow later this morning and into the evening," Mr Delamotte said.
RELATED: Snow falls at Mount Macedon
Temperatures dropped to an overnight low of about seven degrees in Bendigo.
"The main thing people will notice is daytime temperatures and the wind chill factor," Mr Delamotte said.
A maximum of 11 degrees is forecast for Bendigo today, with the mercury already reaching about eight degrees by 9.30am.
But the apparent temperature was closer to two degrees.
"The maximum apparent temperature might only reach seven degrees or so," Mr Delamotte said.
Tuesday:
Bendigo is about to experience its coldest day in May since 2012.
The city is set for a top of 11 degrees on Wednesday with the possibility of showers. Previously, Bendigo had seen a low of 10.2 on May 25, 2012.
Victoria will experience a strong cold front, with weather temperatures expected to be three to five degrees below average.
Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Richard Carlyon said winds from the Antarctic Plateau were responsible for the cold snap.
"The system is coming from a long way south and moving very rapidly northwards," he sad.
"It comes off the Antarctic Plateau and rushes toward land with not much time to modify, so by time gets here it is much colder than it would normally be.
"Once it hits the lands, (the wind) gets modified quite quickly and warms up a little. We have one good crack at getting a low temperature before it warms up slowly for rest of the week."
Mr Carlyon said areas about 600 metres above sea level could see snow fall, including Mount Alexander, near Castlemaine.
"(Wednesday) morning will be the most likely time for snow but it can be hit and miss as it turns into flurries or settles," he said.
"Certainly in the Alpine areas snow is expected but at the lower levels it can turn into sleet if it mixes with rain."
Wind chill is set to affect the state as well, with gusts of 70 to 80km/h expected in central Victoria.
"People talk of the wind cutting through them and that wind could have more of an impact than the temperature," Mr Carlyon said.
On Monday, Mount Macedon saw it's first snow fall of the season.
"At 1000 metres there is a lot more snow situations," Mr Carlyon said.
"Mount Dandenong is at 600m and gets snow maybe once a winter, but with Mount Alexander a bit further north, it is a bit less likely."
Since 5am a severe weather warning for damaging winds has been in place for central, north-central, south-west, north-east, west and east and south Gippsland forecast districts, along with parts of the Wimmera.
The bureau warns a cold and unstable west to south-westerly airflow will persist across the state.
Thunderstorms or heavy showers with peak gusts of about 90 km/h are possible but the risk area is likely to will diminish late Wednesday afternoon.
Blizzard conditions will be experienced at times over Alpine areas.
The State Emergency Service advises people should:
- Move vehicles under cover or away from trees;
- Secure or put away loose items around your house, yard and balcony; and
- Keep clear of fallen power lines.
The next severe weather warning will be issued by 11am.
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