Eastern Australia wakes up to cold weather, snow, wild surf and flight cancellations

Cold weather across eastern Australia saw several towns record their coldest May day on record, while Perisher, Thredbo, Falls and Hotham all recorded 10-20cm of snowfall on Sunday. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Cold and gusty southerly winds across eastern Australia are causing temperatures to plunge, as well as dangerous surf conditions and flight cancellations.

Every state except Western Australia and the Northern Territory experienced a minimum temperature below zero Monday morning, according to Dean Narramore, a senior meteorologist at the Bureau of Meteorology.