SOME much-needed respite is on the way for bushfire-weary Tasmanians, with temperatures expected to drop today.

Temperatures expected to drop into the high teens today with even the chance of snow in the higher peaks.

However, the state remains on alert with 40 bushfires burning around the state and five blazes still considered a major threat.

A fire at Montumana, northwest of Burnie, was still cause for an emergency warning from authorities last night, while massive blazes on the Tasman Peninsula and in the Derwent Valley continue to burn out of control.

Two more fires, at Mathinna in the northeast, and Holwell, south of Beaconsfield, reached emergency-warning level yesterday but were downgraded.

Hobart was expected to reach a top of just 16C today, after an historic high of 42C last Friday, with winds of up to 45km/h predicted.

And there's the chance of snow falling on the higher peaks of the central and southern parts of the state.

Police confirmed yesterday that the biggest fire, on the Tasman Peninsula, had begun accidentally at Forcett.

A tree stump burn had continued to smoulder through the root system and ignited when the south of the state hit record temperatures on Friday.

The fire has burnt 23,000 hectares, destroyed more than 120 buildings and left 100 people unaccounted for.

Lightning is thought to have started an east coast bushfire that razed up to 15 properties.