A severe weather warning has been issued for Melbourne and parts of Victoria for tonight and tomorrow as a brutal cold snap closes in.

Damaging winds of up to 70km/hr will begin to develop near the far southwest coast of the state this afternoon as a complex cold front forms near Tasmania , the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) has advised.

As the system intensifies, winds will then move eastwards, and are set to affect Melbourne and central parts of the state from tomorrow.

The front will cause temperatures to plummet, with a maximum of 14 degrees predicted.

Alpine areas are forecast to be the hardest hit by winds, with gusts of up to 120km/hr.

According to Weatherzone meteorologist Ben Domensino, the low pressure system is likely to bring around 20 to 40 cm of natural snow to the alpine region between today and Sunday.

Mount Buller has already received five centimetres of snow, with the dusting of white transforming the resort into a wintry wonderland today ahead of the official ski season launch on June 9.

Further south, Mount Baw Baw kicked off winter early too with 10 centimetres of snow.

Outside the alps, snow is forecast to reach down to 800-900 metres above sea level in central and western Victoria and over the Central Tablelands of NSW by Friday.

The icy blast will be accompanied by heavy rain, with falls of up to 100 millimetres in the Central ranges.

Residents in east Stawell have been told flash-flooding is possible tomorrow morning.

The CBD won’t cop as severe of a soaking, but can expect up to 33 millimetres in the gauge over the next three days.

While the cold snap will come as a shock to the state, it isn’t expected to last past Sunday, when temperatures behind to warm up and the rainfall subsides.

The city can expect a top of 16 degrees for Mother’s Day, ahead of another maximum for 16 for Monday.

So why are we getting this brutal weather?

The low-pressure system set to hit the east coast is from a polar vortex – a swirling mass of air that sits over Antarctica and the Southern Ocean.

At times a smaller pool of chilly air at the vortex edges breaks away and heads north – towards Australia.

When it mixes with warmer air over the continent it triggers an outbreak of intense conditions.

According to Weatherzone, the cold snap is likely the end of warm Autumn temperatures enjoyed by Sydney and Melbourne.

"The heat we've seen seems to be gone and it won't recover as much after this significant cooling," meteorologist Jacob Cronje told 9NEWS.

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