Heat is spreading across central and eastern parts of Australia, but not all the country is as lucky to escape the brisk bite of winter.

A complex low-pressure system, with a cold front and troughs accompanying it, is crossing southwest Western Australia, delivering winds that are typically only seen a couple of times a year in those parts of the country.

Gusty winds have been and are continuing to be felt by much of southwest WA. Between 2 am and 12 pm WST on Sunday, the strongest wind gusts were recorded at:

120km/h at Cape Leeuwin

115km/h at Rottnest Island (its strongest in nearly 9 years)

111km/h at Busselton Jetty

109km/h at Cape Naturaliste

104km/h at Gooseberry Hill

100km/h at Ocean Reef

98km/h at Swanbourne

96km/h at Garden Island and Gingin

Winds are expected to ease later this evening but remain brisk and cold. The rainfall so far has not been too impressive, considering southwest WA has seen above average rainfall for July. To 9 am on Sunday, the highest totals were:

35mm at Worsley

31mm at Sandy Road and Samson Brook Dam

30mm at Huntly and Shannon

The combination of rain, wind, and clouds helped to limit warming during the day. At 3 pm WST, Katanning had a maximum temperature of 9.6 °C. If the mercury stays below this temperature, it will be Katanning's coldest August day in 21 years respectively. However, this won't be confirmed until later in the day.

Over the next couple of days, a similar pattern of brisk chilly days should be felt by these parts of Western Australia, but likely not as cold as Sunday.