Residents of Victoria experienced the coldest morning of the year so far today, with a minimum temperature of -1 degrees forecast.
While the mercury reached 0 degrees in the city centre, areas such as Horsham, Bendigo, Ballarat, Geelong and the Mornington Peninsula saw temperatures drop to -3 degrees.
Residents in Tasmania, South Australia and southern Western Australia also felt the chill early today, with the mercury remaining in the single digits and widespread frost, according to the Met Office.
Melbourne is expected to see lows below 5 degrees for the rest of the week, which would make it the coldest week in 11 years.
The cold mornings are caused by a combination of a cold air mass, clear skies, light winds and a strengthened high pressure system over southern Australia, which is setting new record lows for the region.
A weather station near the small Tasmanian town of Liawenee recorded a minimum temperature of -10.8 degrees shortly after 7.30am yesterday. Not only was this the coldest part of the country yesterday, it was also the lowest temperature recorded anywhere in Australia for 2 years.
