POWERFUL winds are ripping down trees and powerlines in Victoria before the temperature plummets and the snow falls to low levels.
Wind gusts have already exceeded 100km/hour in parts of all districts except the Mallee and Northern Country as one of the strongest fronts of the year starts crossing Victoria.
By midday, the front was crossing the South West district, bringing the cold change and a band of rain with it.
Portland has already seen 10mm from the front, whilst further east, Warrnambool Airport fell from 14 degrees at 11am to 10 degrees at 11.30am as the front marched through. At a similar time Cape Nelson felt more like four degrees in the wild westerly winds.
The weather in the South West district provides a glimpse of what is coming to the rest of the state later today.
In the Melbourne area, Port Phillip Bay had seen gusts to 104km/h, Avalon to 91km/h and Melbourne Airport to 74km/h, with the strongest winds due just before the front arrives in the mid afternoon.
There is currently a severe weather warning for Victoria, with damaging winds likely in the Melbourne area with gusts of 100 to 110km/h likely.
As the front arrives it will see temperatures dropping around 5 degrees in half an hour during a period of rain. Thankfully winds will start to ease back during the evening.
The strongest winds are expected to occur in elevated areas with destructive wind gusts of 140km/h expected about the North East and Gippsland districts above 1000 metres.
For many people, the only positive from such a powerful cold front is the prospect of snow.
Behind the front snow is a chance as low as 500 metres across Victoria, most likely on Friday when a second front moves through.
This includes locations such as Mt Dandenong, Mt Macedon, Trentham and possibly even Kinglake or Beechworth.
Friday is likely to be a very cold day across the state, with strong winds continuing, but thankfully not quite as damaging as today.
It is likely to be one of the coldest days this winter for Victoria with wind chill making it feel closer to five degrees at times near sea level, whilst the mountains will feel closer to minus 10 degrees in the wind.
Relief is due on Saturday as a high pressure system moves in.
This will drop wind speeds and allow daytime temperatures to be warmer, but morning frost will become widespread as we could see some of the coldest mornings of this winter.
