Millions of Australians have been urged to work from home and avoid unnecessary travel ahead of another week of destructive winds set to lash large swathes of the country.
A cold front will move through parts of South Australia and Tasmania on Sunday night, while Victoria will be hit by damaging wind gusts of up to 130km/h through Monday morning, leading to dangerous surf conditions.
The east coast of New South Wales, including parts of Sydney, Illawarra and the Hunter, will also not be spared from the wild weather, with wind gusts of up to 100m/h.
The Bureau of Meteorology has forecast that parts of New South Wales could be hit by destructive wind gusts of up to 125km/h during the early parts of Monday.
Senior meteorologist Sarah Scully said the low pressure system would produce scattered showers across parts of southern Australia.
Ms Scully said the weather event could also produce small hail and light levels of snow could also be possible.
“The cold front will move into the Tasman Sea and clear during Monday, with showers gradually easing as a high pressure system approaches,” he said.
There is also a risk of locally destructive winds exceeding 125 km/h on the west coast and central coast of Victoria, including the Bellarine Peninsula and south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne.
The recent spell of bad weather brought down trees and power lines and several garden items were thrown far from homes in Victoria (pictured)
‘Destructive winds may also affect areas of north-east Victoria, as well as the north and west coasts of Tasmania.
‘These winds are expected to blow east from the west as the cold front moves eastward.
‘We are forecasting that (the cold front) will move through the Melbourne area sometime between 2am and 4am’
The recent bout of wild weather has already toppled trees and power lines and blown garden items far from homes.
Northern and western parts of Tasmania could be hit by up to 50mm of rain on Monday.
Flood warnings have also been issued for several rivers whose catchments are close to reaching their maximum capacity.
Communities have been ordered to evacuate across parts of Tasmania and a major flood emergency warning remains in place for the Derwent and Styx rivers.
An evacuation warning was issued for the River Derwent from Meadowbank to Macquarie Plains and for the River Styx from Bushy Park to Macquarie Plains and surrounding areas on Sunday evening.
Authorities warned that properties could be isolated or inundated by floodwaters within the next 12 hours.
Flood waters are also likely to threaten property, livestock, equipment and crops.
Ms Scully said the unstable conditions had also produced powerful waves and high tides.
“We expect sea levels to reach 7 to 9 metres off the west coast of Victoria and Tasmania tomorrow afternoon,” he said.
Sydney is expected to hit a high of 29C on Friday, while Melbourne will hit just 22C on Wednesday and Thursday.
Roofs and other structures were left torn apart (pictured) as a result of the destructive winds that have hit parts of Australia in recent weeks.
Highs of 33°C are expected in Brisbane on Monday and we are in for a warm week; the warmest day in Perth also looks set to be Monday, with highs of 25°C.
Adelaide is forecast to hit 25°C on Wednesday and Thursday, while Hobart is forecast to hit 20°C on Thursday.
Tasmania’s capital is set to be hit by persistent scattered showers for most of the week.
Canberra is expected to hit a high of 24C on Friday, while Darwin will hit a scorching 36C on Wednesday.
Sydney
Monday: Sunny. Very windy. Min. 16 °C. Max. 25 °C.
Tuesday: Sunny. Min. 10 °C. Max. 18 °C.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny. Min. 10 °C. Max. 18 °C.
Melbourne
Monday: Rainfall decreases: wind. Min. 10 °C Max. 14 °C
Tuesday: Partly cloudy. Min. 8 °C Max. 17°C
Wednesday: Wind increasing. Partly cloudy. Min. 9 °C Max. 20 °C
Brisbane
Monday: Sunny. Windy. Min. 19 °C. Max. 33 °C.
Tuesday: Sunny. Min. 16 °C Max. 25 °C
Wednesday: Partly cloudy. Min. 13 °C Max. 23°C
A cold front will move through parts of South Australia and Tasmania on Sunday night, while Victoria will be hit by damaging wind gusts of up to 130km/h (pictured)
Perth
Monday: Sunny. Min. 9 °C Max. 25 °C
Tuesday: One or two showers. Min. 12 °C Max. 21 °C
Wednesday: Rain. Min. 13 °C Max. 20 °C
Adelaide
Monday: Possible early rain. Min. 11 °C Max. 17 °C
Tuesday: Sunny. Minimum 7 °C Maximum 20 °C
Wednesday: Possible formation of showers. Min. 12 °C Max. 25 °C
Hobart
Monday: Rainfall decreases. Wind. Minimum 6 °C Maximum 12 °C
Tuesday: Partly cloudy. Min. 7 °C Max. 15°C
Wednesday: One or two showers. Min. 7 °C Max. 19 °C
Sydney is expected to be mostly sunny despite a windy start to the week on Monday, with highs of 29°C forecast on Friday.
Canberra
Monday: Windy. Partly cloudy. Min. 9 °C. Max. 14°C.
Tuesday: Sunny. Min. 1 °C. Max. 16 °C.
Wednesday: Early frosts. Mostly sunny. Min. 0 °C. Max. 19 °C.
Darwin
Monday: Sunny. Minimum 23 °C Maximum 35 °C
Tuesday: Sunny. Minimum 23 °C Maximum 35 °C
Wednesday: Sunny. Minimum 23 °C Maximum 36 °C
Hobart will be hit by persistent scattered showers for most of the week, while scattered showers are also expected in Melbourne and Adelaide (pictured, people holding an umbrella on a rainy day)
