Polar blast: Tasmania blanketed in snow as cold snap hits south-east Australia

Hobart has been dubbed ‘Snowbart’ as a frigid air mass brought falls down to as low as 300 metres in the capital. Further south, flurries were seen at sea level. Photograph: Rebekah de Brey

South-east Australia is set to shiver through a winter cold snap this week, with some areas experiencing subzero temperatures and others up to 8C below average.

Bureau of Meteorologist senior meteorologist Miriam Bradbury said the bitter air mass moving across the region would bring daytime temperatures “several degrees” below average across large parts of Australia until the end of the week.