Sweltering summer heat, high winds, bushfire warnings and rain are all expected in parts of Australia during a rollercoaster first weekend of spring.
The Bureau of Meteorology has forecast Sydney could reach a mild maximum of 30C on Friday, well above the 19C reported on the same day last year.
Conditions are expected to improve over the weekend, with the Bureau predicting temperatures could drop to 16C on Sunday with up to 1mm of rain expected.
Meanwhile, much of the south of the country is bracing for another wave of strong winds on Friday, with maximum gusts of up to 105 km/h expected.
The Bureau of Meteorology has warned that higher temperatures combined with strong winds could increase the risk of fires, although no warnings are in force on Friday morning.
A satellite image from the Bureau shows there are a series of detected hotspots, likely small fires caused by lightning, along the eastern boundary of New South Wales and southern Queensland.
The ACT, Southern and Central Tablelands, South Coast, Blue Mountains, Illawarra and Snowy Mountains are expected to experience strong winds on Friday.
To the south, Melbourne is expected to see rainfall of up to 10mm on Friday, before rain clouds ease and temperatures drop over the weekend.
A satellite image showing hotspots detected – likely small fires – across the country on Friday, with the bureau warning that higher temperatures and strong winds could cause them to spread
The Garden City is expected to reach a potential maximum of 24°C on Friday, before dropping to highs of 18°C over the weekend with lows as low as 11°C.
Strong wind warnings are also in force for large areas of eastern Victoria until Friday morning, with alpine regions, as well as central and Gippsland districts and outer suburbs of Melbourne and Geelong affected.
Further west, Adelaide is forecast to reach 20C on Friday, dropping slightly over the weekend, with a maximum of 8mm and just 1mm of rain forecast.
Brisbane, meanwhile, is not expected to receive a drop of rain over the weekend, with clear skies, sunny conditions and a high of 29C.
The same cannot be said for Tasmania where, after last week’s flooding, Hobart is expected to receive up to 10mm on Friday before it too largely dissipates.
Minor flood warnings remain in force for the Macquarie, Isis, Lake, Meander, Mersey, North Esk and South Esk rivers.
Perth is expected to receive up to 3mm of rain on Friday, with maximum temperatures not expected to exceed 22C over the weekend.
Fire warnings were in effect for Western Australia’s central interior region on Thursday.
Elsewhere, Darwin is forecast to see maximum temperatures of 35C with little chance of rain, while Canberra is expected to reach 24C on Friday.
It’s expected to be unseasonably warm in NSW on Friday, but temperatures are likely to drop over the weekend, reaching a high of 25 degrees (Photo: Bondi)
Sydney
Forecast for the rest of Friday:Max 30. Sunny. Chance of rain: 5 percent. Sydney area: Sunny. Winds northwest 20 to 30 km/h.
SATURDAY: Min 19 Max 24. Showers possible. Possible precipitation: 0 to 1 mm. Chance of rain: 40 percent. Sydney region: Sunny morning. Average chance of showers in the afternoon and evening. Winds northwest 15 to 20 km/h turning southeast 15 to 25 km/h in the morning.
Sunday: Min 15 Max 24. Morning showers possible. Rainfall possible: 0 to 1 mm. Rain chance: 40 percent. Sydney area: Partly cloudy. Slight chance of morning showers. Light winds.
Brisbane
Forecast for the rest of Friday:Max 26. Partly cloudy. Chance of rain: 5 percent. Brisbane area: Partly cloudy. Light winds becoming north-northeast 15 to 25 km/h midday then becoming light late in the evening.
SATURDAY: Min 14 Max 28. Sunny. Chance of rain: 5 percent. Brisbane area. Chance of fog in the west early in the morning. Sunny day. Light winds becoming north to northeast 15 to 25 km/h midday then becoming light in the evening.
Sunday: Min 14 Max 29. Sunny. Chance of rain: 0 percent. Brisbane area: Chance of morning fog. Sunny day. Light winds becoming north-northeast 15 to 25 km/h during the day then becoming light during the evening.
Melbourne
Forecast for the rest of Friday: Max 24. Rain developing. Winds decreasing. Rainfall possible: 1 to 6 mm. Rain chance: 80 per cent. Melbourne area: Partly cloudy. High chance of rain, likely in the afternoon and evening. Damaging winds possible in outer suburbs in the morning and afternoon. Winds north to northwest 35 to 50 km/h turning west to southwest 15 to 20 km/h in the afternoon and evening.
SATURDAY: Min 9 Max 19. Sunny. Chance of rain: 20 percent. Melbourne area. Sunny day. Slight chance of showers early in the morning and again in the evening. Light winds becoming westerly 15 to 20 km/h early this afternoon then becoming northwesterly in the evening.
Sunday: Min 11 Max 18. Showers developing. Rainfall possible: 0 to 4 mm. Chance of rain: 80 percent. Melbourne Region: Cloudy. High chance of showers, likely in the afternoon and evening. Winds northwest 15 to 20 km/h increasing to 25 to 35 km/h during the morning.
Brisbane is expected to have a sunny weekend but the bureau has warned winds could increase the risk of wildfires
Perth
Forecast for the rest of Friday. Max 18. Showers or two. Rainfall possible: 0 to 2 mm. Chance of rain: 60 percent. Perth area: Mostly cloudy. Medium risk of gusty showers, becoming less likely late afternoon and evening. Westerly winds 15 to 20 km/h becoming light late afternoon.
SATURDAY: Min 10 Max 20. Showers possible. Rainfall possible: 0 to 1 mm. Rain chance: 40 percent. Perth area: Partly cloudy. Morning fog risk over hills. Average chance of showers in the morning and early afternoon. Light winds.
Sunday: Min 9 Max 21. Sunny. Chance of rain: 5 percent. Perth area: Mostly sunny. Chance of morning fog over hills. Light winds.
Adelaide
Forecast for the rest of Friday: Max 20. Rain, clearing late. Rainfall possible: 2 to 8 mm. Chance of rain: 95 percent. Adelaide Region: Cloudy. Very high chance of rain, likely late morning and afternoon, clearing in the evening. Winds southwest 15 to 25 km/h tending to the west in the morning.
SATURDAY: Min 10 Max 18. Showers possible. Rainfall possible: 0 to 1 mm. Rain chance: 40 percent. Adelaide region. Partly cloudy. Medium chance of showers in the hills and southern suburbs, low risk elsewhere. Light winds becoming west to northwest 15 to 25 km/h in the morning.
Sunday: Min 11 Max 18. Showers. Possible rainfall: 1 to 6 mm. Chance of rain: 90 percent. Adelaide region: Partly cloudy. High chance of showers. Westerly winds 25 to 35 km/h.
Canberra
Forecast for the rest of Friday:Max 24. Becoming windy. Sunny. Chance of rain: 10 percent. Canberra region: Sunny. Northwest winds 30 to 50 km/h.
SATURDAY: Min 11 Max 20. Showers or two. Rainfall possible: 0 to 2 mm. Chance of rain: 60 percent. Canberra region: Cloudy. Medium chance of showers, likely in the morning. Winds northwest 15 to 20 km/h becoming light before dawn then northwest 15 to 25 km/h by midday.
Sunday: Min 3 Max 18. Sunny. Chance of rain: 10 percent. Canberra Region: Mostly sunny. Light winds becoming northwest 20 to 30 km/h during the morning then tending to west 25 to 40 km/h during the day.
The first weekend of spring is looking mixed in terms of weather, with periods of unusually warm weather
Darwin
Forecast for the rest of Friday:Max 34. Mostly sunny. Chance of rain: 5 percent. Darwin City and Outer Darwin Region: Mostly sunny. Winds east 15 to 25 km/h turning north to northeast 20 to 30 km/h early this afternoon then becoming northeast 15 to 20 km/h in the evening.
SATURDAY: Min 25 Max 35. Sunny. Chance of rain: 5 percent. Darwin City and Outer Darwin Area: Sunny. Light winds becoming easterly 15 to 25 km/h in the morning, then turning north to northeast by midday.
Sunday: Min 25 Max 36. Sunny. Chance of rain: 10 percent. Darwin City and Outer Darwin Area: Sunny. Light winds becoming east to southeast 15 to 25 km/h during the morning, then turning north to northeast 15 to 20 km/h during the afternoon.
Hobart
Forecast for the rest of Friday: Max 19. Rain. Becoming windy. Possible rainfall: 3 to 10 mm. Chance of rain: 90 percent. Hobart Region: Cloudy. Very high chance of rain, decreasing to a medium chance of showers in the afternoon. Winds north to northwest 20 to 25 km/h tending to west to northwest 25 to 40 km/h in the late morning and early afternoon.
SATURDAY: Min 8 Max 16. Partly cloudy. Rainfall possible: 0 to 1 mm. Rain chance: 30 percent. Hobart Region: Partly cloudy. Slight chance of showers, likely late morning and afternoon. Winds northwest 20 to 30 km/h.
Sunday: Min 9 Max 15. Showers. Rainfall possible: 0 to 4 mm. Chance of rain: 80 percent. Hobart area: Partly cloudy. High chance of showers. Winds northwest 15 to 25 km/h increasing to 25 to 35 km/h during the morning then turning west 20 to 30 km/h during the afternoon.
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