Victoria and Tasmania stand in the way of a violent reminder that we are indeed not in the middle of January.

South Australia, the ACT and southern New South Wales will also feel the cold.

A vigorous cold front is currently tracking across the Bight, brimming with storms, rain and gale force winds.

Adelaide will be the first to feel the wrath of winter as temperatures fall to around 15 degrees on Monday.

Winds will make it feel colder with possible gusts beyond 100km/h on Monday and Tuesday.

Victoria and Tasmania will be next later on Monday and into Tuesday.

Gales with potential gusts beyond 100km/h will be a genuine risk across much of Victoria.

With thunderstorms and rain, it will make for quite a wild start to the week.

Temperatures in Melbourne look likely to fall as low as 13 degrees on Tuesday, although with the winds it will feel colder.

Canberra is expected to also drop to a chilly 11 degrees on Tuesday.

The icy blast should give some decent snowfall to most resorts, especially on Tuesday, with blizzards and falls up to around 30 or even 40cm.