Scorching summer heat, high winds, bushfire warnings and rain are some of the highlights in Australia during a turbulent first weekend of spring.
The Bureau of Meteorology predicts that Sydney could reach a pleasant maximum temperature of 30 degrees Celsius on Friday, well above the 19 degrees recorded on the same day last year.
Conditions are expected to improve over the weekend, with the Bureau predicting temperatures could drop to a minimum of 16 degrees Celsius on Sunday, with a maximum of 1mm of rain.
Meanwhile, much of the south of the country is bracing for another devastating wind gust on Friday, with gusts of up to 105km (65 miles) high predicted.
The Bureau of Meteorology warned that higher temperatures combined with strong winds could increase the risk of fires. However, no warnings had been issued by Friday morning.
A satellite image from the Bureau shows that a number of hotspots have been detected along the eastern border of New South Wales and southern Queensland. These are likely to be small fires caused by lightning strikes.
Strong winds are expected on Friday in the Australian Capital Territory, the Southern and Central Highlands, the South Coast and the Blue Mountains, Illawarra and Snowy Mountains.
Around 10mm of rain is expected in Melbourne’s south on Friday, before the rain clouds clear and temperatures drop over the weekend.
A satellite image shows detected hotspots – likely small fires – across the country on Friday, with the Bureau warning that higher temperatures and strong winds could cause them to spread
The maximum temperature in Garden City is expected to reach 24 degrees Celsius on Friday, after which the maximum temperature will drop to 18 degrees Celsius over the weekend and the minimum temperature may drop to 11 degrees Celsius.
Damage warnings are also in place for large parts of eastern Victoria until Friday morning, affecting the alpine regions, the Central and Gippsland districts and the suburbs of Melbourne and Geelong.
Further west, Adelaide will see highs of 20 degrees Celsius on Friday, with a slight drop over the weekend, with a maximum of 8mm and as little as 1mm of rain expected.
Brisbane is unlikely to get a drop of rain this weekend, with clear skies, sunny temperatures and a maximum of 29 degrees.
Not so in Tasmania. After last week’s floods, Hobart is expected to receive around 10mm of rain on Friday, after which the water will largely disappear.
Minor flood warnings remained in place for the Macquarie, Isis, Lake, Meander, Mersey, North Esk and South Esk rivers.
A maximum of 3mm of rain is forecast to fall in Perth on Friday, with maximum temperatures not exceeding 22 degrees Celsius over the weekend.
Fire warnings were issued for Western Australia’s Central Interior region on Thursday.
Elsewhere, Darwin was forecast to see temperatures of 35 degrees Celsius, with little chance of rain, while Canberra was expected to reach 24 degrees Celsius on Friday.
Friday looks unseasonably warm in NSW, but temperatures are likely to drop over the weekend, reaching a high in the mid 20s (Photo: Bondi)
Sydney
Weather forecast for the rest of Friday: Max 30. Sunny. Chance of rain: 5 percent. Area Sydney: Sunny. Wind from the northwest 20 to 30 km/h.
Saturday: Min 19 Max 24. Possible development of a shower. Possible precipitation: 0 to 1 mm. Chance of some rain: 40 percent. Area Sydney: Sunny morning. Average chance of showers in the afternoon and evening. Wind northwest 15 to 20 km/h, shifting to southeast 15 to 25 km/h in the morning.
Sunday: Min 15 Max 24. Possible morning shower. Possible rainfall: 0 to 1 mm. Chance of some rain: 40 percent. Area Sydney: Partly cloudy. Small chance of a shower in the morning. Light wind.
Brisbane
Weather forecast for the rest of Friday: Max 26. Partly cloudy. Chance of rain: 5 percent. Brisbane area: Partly cloudy. Light winds shifting north to northeast 15 to 25 km/h in the middle of the day becoming light in the late evening.
Saturday: Min 14 Max 28. Sunny. Chance of rain: 5 percent. Brisbane area. Chance of fog in the west in the early morning. Sunny day. Light wind becoming north to northeast 15 to 25 km/h in the middle of the day and then light in the evening.
Sunday: Min 14 Max 29. Sunny. Chance of rain: 0 percent. Brisbane area: Chance of morning mist. Sunny day. Light winds becoming north to northeasterly during the day at 15 to 25 km/h, becoming light in the evening.
Melbourne
Weather forecast for the rest of Friday: Max. 24. Rain developing. Winds decreasing. Rainfall potential: 1 to 6 mm. Chance of some rain: 80 percent. Melbourne area: Partly cloudy. Rain likely, likely in the afternoon and evening. Possible damaging winds over suburbs in the morning and afternoon. Winds north to northwest 35 to 50 km/h, shifting 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. Small chance of a shower early in the morning and again in the evening. Light wind that becomes westerly in the early afternoon at 15 to 20 km/h and tends to northwesterly in the evening.
Sunday: Min 11 Max 18. Showers developing. Precipitation potential: 0 to 4 mm. Chance of some rain: 80 percent. Melbourne area: Cloudy. Chance of showers, likely in the afternoon and evening. Northwesterly winds at 15 to 20 km/h, increasing to 25 to 35 km/h in the morning.
Brisbane is set for a sunny weekend but the Bureau has warned that winds could increase the risk of bushfires
Perth
Weather forecast for the rest of Friday. Max. 18. One or two showers. Rainfall potential: 0 to 2 mm. Rain chance: 60 percent. Perth area: Mostly cloudy. Average chance of gusts, becoming less likely later in the afternoon and evening. West winds 15 to 20 km/h, becoming light in the late afternoon.
Saturday: Min 10 Max 20. Possible showers. Possible rainfall: 0 to 1 mm. Chance of some rain: 40 percent. Perth area: Partly cloudy. Chance of morning mist over the 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 mist over the hills. Light winds.
Adelaide
Weather forecast for the rest of Friday: Max. 20. Rain, clearing late. Possible rainfall: 2 to 8 mm. Chance of rain: 95 percent. Area Adelaide: Cloudy. Very high chance of rain, likely late morning and afternoon, then clearing in the evening. Winds southwest 15 to 25 km/h, tending to west in the morning.
Saturday: Min 10 Max 18. Possible showers. Possible precipitation: 0 to 1 mm. Chance of some rain: 40 percent. Adelaide area. Partly cloudy. Average chance of showers in the hills and southern suburbs, small chance elsewhere. Light winds turning west to northwest in the morning, 15 to 25 km/h.
Sunday: Min 11 Max 18. Showers. Possible rainfall: 1 to 6 mm. Chance of some rain: 90 percent. Area Adelaide: Partly cloudy. High chance of showers. Wind from the west 25 to 35 km/h.
Canberra
Weather forecast for the rest of Friday: Max 24. Becoming windy. Sunny. Chance of rain: 10 percent. Area Canberra: Sunny. Wind from the northwest 30 to 50 km/h.
Saturday: Min 11 Max 20. Showers or two. Rainfall potential: 0 to 2mm. Chance of rain: 60 percent. Canberra area: Cloudy. Average chance of showers, likely in morning. Winds northwest 15 to 20km/h becoming light before sunrise, then northwest 15 to 25km/h by mid-day.
Sunday: Min 3 Max 18. Sunny. Chance of rain: 10 percent. Area Canberra: Mostly sunny. Light wind becoming northwesterly in the morning at 20 to 30 km/h becoming westerly during the day at 25 to 40 km/h.
The first weekend of spring is expected to be mixed, with periods of unusually warm weather
Darwin
Weather forecast for the rest of Friday: Max 34. Mostly sunny. Chance of rain: 5 percent. Darwin City and Outer Darwin area: Mostly sunny. Winds east 15 to 25 km/h turning north to northeast 20 to 30 km/h in the early afternoon then 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 wind becoming easterly in the morning at 15 to 25 km/h, veering to northeasterly by mid-day.
Sunday: Min 25 Max 36. Sunny. Chance of rain: 10 percent. Darwin City and Outer Darwin area: Sunny. Light wind becoming east to southeast 15 to 25 km/h in the morning and north to northeast 15 to 20 km/h in the afternoon.
Hobart
Weather forecast for the rest of Friday: Max 19. Rain. Becoming windy. Rainfall potential: 3 to 10 mm. Rain chance: 90 percent. Hobart area: Cloudy. Very high chance of rain decreasing to a moderate chance of afternoon showers. Wind north to northwest 20 to 25 km/h tending west to northwest 25 to 40 km/h in the late morning and early afternoon.
Saturday: Min 8 Max 16. Partly cloudy. Possible rainfall: 0 to 1 mm. Chance of rain: 30 percent. Hobart area: Partly cloudy. Small chance of a shower, probably in the late morning and afternoon. Wind from the northwest 20 to 30 km/h.
Sunday: Min 9 Max 15. Showers. Precipitation possible: 0 to 4 mm. Chance of some rain: 80 percent. Hobart area: Partly cloudy. Chance of showers. Winds northwest 15 to 25 km/h, increasing to 25 to 35 km/h in the morning then veering to west 20 to 30 km/h in the afternoon.
