A cold snap will bring freezing weather and a deluge of rain to parts of Australia after millions suffered from record heat over the long weekend.
Cooler temperatures and rain are expected in several major cities this week, following a heatwave that sent crowds flocking to beaches along the coast.
Sydney saw a high of 36C on Sunday, 14C above the October average, making it the hottest start to the month on record in the city.
Sunday night’s NRL grand final between the Penrith Panthers and Brisbane Broncos was the hottest on record.
The heatwave will end with a temperature change bringing consecutive days of rain, with up to 100mm dumped in parts of Victoria by midweek.
Melbourne and Adelaide will be caught up in the rainy period, with the mercury falling to 15°C.
Sydney will enjoy a brief cool spell on Monday with temperatures dropping to 24C, showers forecast for Wednesday and the mercury plunging to 21C on Friday.
Cooler temperatures and rain are expected later in the week in Sydney and southern Queensland, following the hot weather over the bank holiday weekend.
Sydney recorded temperatures of 36C while Melbourne hit a high of 22C and Brisbane soared to 27C on Sunday (pictured is a weather map of Australia)
Brisbane will enjoy a high of 28C throughout the week with showers forecast for Thursday.
An Antarctic air mass is moving north across the Southern Ocean, which will contribute to falling surface temperatures.
A cold front will move across the Bay, then an associated low and frontal area will bring a significant rain event southward, according to Bradlyn Oakes, Sky News meteorologist.
Cold weather will sweep across the southern states from South Australia on Sunday evening, with some rain possible in parts of the state.
Adelaide will drop from a maximum of 31C on Sunday to a maximum of 20C on Tuesday due to the changes.
The major wet weather event will reach Victoria on Tuesday and last until Thursday.
It will bring rain across the state, with moderate to heavy falls expected in eastern areas.
Melbourne could see three days of rain from Tuesday to Thursday, with Wednesday producing the heaviest falls for the state capital.
Temperatures in Melbourne are expected to drop from a high of 28C on Monday to a much cooler 15C on Wednesday and Thursday.
Gippsland and north-east Victoria could receive up to 50-100mm of rain on Wednesday and Thursday.
There will also be potential showers in NSW, the ACT and southern Queensland over the next few days.
East coast beaches, such as Sydney’s Bondi, were packed as people spent the weekend cooling off.
Sunday night’s NRL grand final between the Penrith Panthers and Brisbane Broncos was the hottest on record.
Sydney is only expected to receive five to 10mm of rain during this period, while Canberra could receive up to 40mm.
The maximum temperature in Sydney will drop towards the end of the week to 23°C on Thursday and 21°C on Friday.
The temperature change in Canberra is expected to be much more abrupt with a maximum of 14°C on Thursday.
The cool change comes following a scorching weekend that saw heat records broken at the Grand Final in Sydney on Sunday.
These were the hottest temperatures recorded at Accor Stadium at Sydney Olympic Park, with the heat peaking after the NRLW grand final kicked off. The situation then cooled slightly as the men’s match began.
Other areas of greater Sydney saw temperatures rise even further.
Penrith reached a maximum of 37.3 degrees while Richmond reached 36.7 degrees, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
More than 85 fires have burned across the state and 39 were out of control as of Sunday evening.
There have been three grass fires in western Sydney, including one near Mt Druitt, close to shops.
There was notTotal fire bans are in force in greater Sydney, the Hunter region, north-west New South Wales and the far south coast.
The fire risk level was considered extreme in these areas.
Conditions will change completely throughout the week, with much-needed rain returning to several states and territories via a wet weather event.
Melbourne (pictured) could see three days of rain from Tuesday to Thursday, with the heaviest falls forecast for this Wednesday.
