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Snow in Tasmania on eve of March equinox

Ben Domensino, Thursday March 15, 2018 - 13:58 AEDT

It may be snowing in Tasmania early next week as a burst of cold air from the Southern Ocean surges across the state on the eve of the March equinox.

A pair of cold fronts will move over Tasmania on Sunday and Monday, causing blustery winds and showers across the state.

These fronts are likely to cause damaging winds, with the strongest gusts expected to occur on Monday, with and behind the second, stronger front.

In addition to the blustery wind and rain, a pulse of cold air behind the pair of fronts will ensure a wintry feel is in the air across Tasmania at the start of next week. Temperatures could drop low enough for snow to fall in the state's highland areas on Monday or Tuesday.

The coldest air will follow the second front and move over Tasmania later on Monday and into Tuesday at this stage. The mercury is forecast to reach minus two degrees at Liawenee on Tuesday morning for the first time since December.

Mount Wellington's forecast maximum of five degrees next Tuesday is nearly seven below average for March.

The blast of wintry weather will occur in Tasmania on the eve of the March Equinox, which takes place at 3:15am local time on Wednesday next week.

The March equinox marks the date that our sun passes directly over the equator and begins moving over the northern hemisphere. Following this equinox, day length and angle of the sun in our sky gradually reduces during the next three months while Australia to descends into winter.

The March equinox is considered to be the end of the astronomical summer in the southern hemisphere.

- Weatherzone

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