Sometimes it gets to this time of year and you think we have turned a corner.

Parts of the country have enjoyed a taste of spring-like weather, with sunny days and warming temperatures. While other parts had a fair bit of rain (which can also be considered spring-like).

But winter isn’t over. Far from it.

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The weather pattern will change as we go into the weekend. High pressure will move out of the way, and cold fronts from the Southern Ocean will rise up and strike the east.

The first one arrives on Friday and it sets off a series of them, continuing across the weekend and into early next week.

Cold fronts that rise up from the south bring a burst of cold air with them.

The isobars on the weather map direct the air like markings on a road map — and this air will have originated near Antarctica.

This brings us a few interesting weather features. Firstly the cold air, with snow likely to fall not just in alpine areas but down onto the ranges and potentially the lower hills.

For those below this elevation the showers are particularly cold. Cold enough for wintry hail — the tiny balls of ice that bounce as they hit the ground, covering the landscape in white.

The isobars on the weather map are also squeezed together, indicating a tighter pressure gradient, and therefore stronger winds. This air is the opposite of tropical, so the wind chill is extreme — and while the air temperature is cold, what it “feels like” is bitter.

This cold air is also known as an upper level cold pool, and you can think of that as a ball of energy high up in the atmosphere that can have a big impact if it runs into moisture.

This one will do exactly that. The cold pool moves over Tasmania, Victoria and NSW, and when it reaches NSW it gets access to a very warm Tasman Sea which acts like a big pool of moisture.

The energy and the moisture will interact, making the pressure drop along the coast. An East Coast Low may form, ensuring that those near and to the south of the low are impacted by significant rain, strengthening winds and rough surf.

At least this one doesn’t look as strong as the recent “rain bomb” but it is certainly something to keep in mind as we go through the early part of next week.