Millions of Australians on the east coast will be hit by severe storms and “triple-digit” rainfall after being hit by a sweltering heatwave.
A massive 4,000km cloud band stretching from the Top End to Tasmania will bring heavy rain and possible flash flooding to large swathes of the east coast.
The arrival of rain will bring much-needed relief to New South Wales following the longest stretch of hot spring days in parts of western Sydney.
Weatherzone meteorologist Quincy Tut told Daily Mail Australia a pair of surface troughs were approaching from western New South Wales in the wake of the heatwave.
“That depression will last into the weekend, and that’s what will increase the instability and humidity and cause these storms that we’ll see virtually every weekend afternoon,” he said.
“We could see damaging wind gusts; these storms are likely to accompany heavy rain virtually all the way to the central coast and into the Sydney Basin.
“(Heavy rain) will extend from Sydney to the central coast.”
Large parts of Australia’s east coast are expected to experience rainfall totals of between 30 and 60mm this week, while the Murray-Darling Basin and the Queensland Tropics face potential falls of more than 100mm.
Millions of Australians on the east coast will be hit by severe storms and ‘triple-digit’ rainfall after being hit by a sweltering heatwave (pictured, rain in Melbourne)
Severe storms are forecast for central and eastern New South Wales. Western parts of New South Wales have also been warned to prepare for possible heavy rain.
Parts of South Australia, Victoria and south-west New South Wales have already been hit by heavy rain in the past 24 hours.
Western parts of New South Wales have also been warned to prepare for heavy rain.
Sydney, along with the Hunter and Illawarra regions, will once again be in the line of fire for strong storms throughout the afternoon and evening on Thursday. Central and eastern New South Wales will also be affected by damaging winds on Thursday afternoon.
The New South Wales State Emergency Service has warned millions of residents to prepare for “potentially severe storms with heavy rain, damaging winds and large hail” across much of the state, including Sydney, the mid-north coast of New South Wales. South Wales, Hunter and Illawarra.
Tut said a ridge of high pressure will stabilize conditions in Victoria until Saturday, when the low pressure system moves across the state.
“Starting Saturday we’ll start to see some of those storm chances increase, including Melbourne,” the forecaster said.
Meanwhile, the mercury will hit highs of 37C in Perth on Friday as firefighters battle a bushfire threatening several communities north of the city.
Two large air tankers were sent from New South Wales to the west coast to fight the fire.
A massive 4,000km cloud band stretching from the Top End to Tasmania will bring heavy rain and possible flash flooding to large swaths of the east coast (pictured)
The arrival of rain will bring some relief to New South Wales after the sweltering heatwave, which saw people flock to beaches to cool off.
brisbane
Friday: Shower or two. Minimum 23°C Maximum 29°C.
Saturday: Showers. Minimum 22°C Maximum 27°C.
Sunday: Showers. Minimum 22°C Maximum 28°C.
Sydney
Friday: Showers. Minimum 21°C Maximum 25°C.
Saturday: Rain. Min. 21°C Max. 23°C.
Sunday: Shower or two. Minimum 20°C Maximum 30°C.
Canberra
Friday: Showers. Possible storm. Minimum 15°C Maximum 25°C.
Saturday: Rain. Possible heavy showers. Minimum 15°C Maximum 20°C.
Sunday: Shower or two. Minimum 15°C Maximum 26°C.
Temperatures soared to a sweltering 40 degrees in Sydney’s western suburbs on Wednesday (visitors pictured at Bondi Beach)
Melbourne
Friday: Partly cloudy. Minimum 17°C Maximum 27°C.
Saturday: Showers. Possible strong falls. Minimum 17°C Maximum 22°C.
Sunday: Shower or two. Minimum 17°C Maximum 23°C.
hobart
Friday: Possible shower. Min. 11°C Max. 19°C.
Saturday: Showers, tending rain. Minimum 12°C Maximum 19°C.
Sunday: Rain. Possible strong falls. Min. 14C Max. 22.
Adelaide
Friday: Possible late rain. Minimum 13°C Maximum 25°C.
Saturday: Possible shower. Minimum 15°C Maximum 24°C.
Sunday: Cloud clearing. Minimum 15°C Maximum 26°C.
The damaging heatwave has put pressure on Australia’s electricity systems and households have been urged to consume less energy (weather map pictured).
Perth
Friday: Mostly sunny. Minimum 21°C Maximum 37°C.
Saturday: Sunny. Minimum 21°C Maximum 30°C.
Sunday: Shower or two. Minimum 17°C Maximum 24°C.
Darwin
Friday: Shower or two. Minimum 26°C Maximum 33°C.
Saturday: Shower or two. Minimum 25°C Maximum 32°C.
Sunday: Shower or two. Possible storm. Minimum 26°C Maximum 33°C.