Sweltering summer-like heat, wild winds, bushfire warnings and rain are expected in parts of Australia during a dizzying first weekend of spring.
The Bureau of Meteorology has forecast Sydney could hit a comfortable high of 30C on Friday, well above the 19C recorded on the same day last year.
Conditions are expected to improve over the weekend, with the Bureau forecasting temperatures will drop to 16°C on Sunday with up to 1mm of rain forecast.
Meanwhile, much of the south of the country is bracing for another lash of damaging winds on Friday, with maximum gusts forecast of up to 105 kilometres (65 miles).
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 until Friday morning.
A satellite image from the Bureau shows a number of hot spots, likely small fires caused by lightning, have been detected along the eastern edge of New South Wales and southern Queensland.
Strong winds are expected in the ACT, Southern and Central Tablelands, South Coast and the Blue Mountains, Illawarra and Snowy Mountains on Friday.
To the south, Melbourne is forecast to see up to 10mm of rain on Friday before rain clouds clear and temperatures cool over the weekend.
A satellite image shows hot spots, likely small fires, detected across the country on Friday, and the bureau warns that higher temperatures and strong winds could cause them to spread.
Garden City is forecast to reach a potential high temperature of 24°C on Friday, before falling to highs of 18°C over the weekend and lows of 11°C.
Damaging wind warnings have also been issued for large parts of eastern Victoria until Friday morning, affecting the Alpine regions, as well as the Central and Gippsland districts and the outer suburbs of Melbourne and Geelong.
Further west, Adelaide is expected to hit 20°C on Friday, falling slightly over the weekend, with a maximum of 8mm and just 1mm of rain forecast.
Meanwhile, Brisbane is unlikely to receive a drop of rain over the weekend, with clear skies, sunny conditions and a high of 29°C.
The same cannot be said for Tasmania, where, following last week’s flooding, Hobart is forecast 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 forecast to receive up to 3mm of rain on Friday, with maximum temperatures not expected to exceed 22°C over the weekend.
Fire-prone weather warnings were issued for Western Australia’s Central Outback region on Thursday.
Elsewhere, Darwin is forecast to see highs of 35C with a slight chance of rain, while Canberra is expected to see highs of 24C on Friday.
Friday is looking unseasonably warm in New South Wales, but temperatures are likely to cool over the weekend and reach a high of around 25°F (photo: Bondi)
Sydney
Forecast for the rest of Friday: Max 30. Sunny. Chance of rain: 5 percent. Sydney Area: Sunny. Northwest winds at 20 to 30 km/h.
Saturday: Min. 19 Max. 24. Showers possible. Possible precipitation: 0 to 1 mm. Chance of rain: 40 percent. Sydney Area: Sunny morning. Medium chance of showers in the afternoon and evening. Winds northwest at 15 to 20 km/h, shifting to the southeast at 15 to 25 km/h in the morning.
Sunday: Min. 15 Max. 24. Possible morning showers. Possible precipitation: 0 to 1 mm. Chance of rain: 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 to northeast at 15 to 25 km/h by midday then becoming light in the late afternoon.
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 at 15 to 25 km/h by 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 to northeast winds at 15 to 25 km/h during the day then becoming light overnight.
Melbourne
Forecast for the rest of Friday: Max 24. Rain developing. Wind decreasing. Possible rainfall: 1 to 6 mm. Chance of rain: 80 percent. Melbourne Area: Partly cloudy. High chance of rain, most likely in the afternoon and evening. Damaging winds possible in outer suburbs in the morning and afternoon. North to northwest winds at 35 to 50 km/h becoming west to southwest at 15 to 20 km/h during the afternoon and evening.
Saturday: Min. 9 Max. 19. Sunny. Chance of rain: 20 percent. Melbourne Area. Sunny day. Slight chance of rain early in the morning and again in the evening. Light winds becoming west at 15 to 20 km/h in the afternoon and then northwest at night.
Sunday: Min. 11 Max. 18. Showers developing. Possible rainfall: 0 to 4 mm. Chance of rain: 80 percent. Melbourne Area: Cloudy. High chance of showers, most likely in the afternoon and evening. Northwest winds at 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 that winds could increase the danger of bushfires.
Perth
Forecast for the rest of Friday. Max. 18. One or two showers. Possible precipitation: 0 to 2 mm. Chance of rain: 60 percent. Perth Area: Mostly cloudy. Medium chance of showers with gusts, reducing late this afternoon and evening. West winds at 15 to 20 km/h, becoming light late this afternoon.
Saturday: Min. 10 Max. 20. Showers possible. Possible precipitation: 0 to 1 mm. Chance of rain: 40 percent. Perth Area: Partly cloudy. Chance of morning fog in the hills. Medium chance of morning and early afternoon showers. Light winds.
Sunday: Min. 9 Max. 21. Sunny. Chance of rain: 5 percent. Perth Area: Mostly sunny. Chance of morning fog in hills. Light winds.
Adelaide
Forecast for the rest of Friday: Max 20. Rain, clearing later. Possible precipitation: 2 to 8 mm. Chance of rain: 95 percent. Adelaide Area: Cloudy. Very high chance of rain, most likely in the late morning and afternoon, then clearing at night. Southwest winds at 15 to 25 km/h becoming west in the morning.
Saturday: Min. 10 Max. 18. Showers possible. Possible precipitation: 0 to 1 mm. Chance of rain: 40 percent. Adelaide Area. Partly cloudy. Medium chance of showers in the hills and southern suburbs, slight chance elsewhere. Light winds becoming west to northwest at 15 to 25 km/h in the morning.
Sunday: Min. 11 Max. 18. Showers. Possible precipitation: 1 to 6 mm. Chance of rain: 90 percent. Adelaide Area: Partly cloudy. High chance of showers. West winds at 25 to 35 km/h.
Canberra
Forecast for the rest of Friday: Max 24. Windy. Sunny. Chance of rain: 10 percent. Canberra Area: Sunny. Northwest winds at 30 to 50 km/h.
Saturday: Min. 11 Max. 20. One or two showers. Possible rainfall: 0 to 2 mm. Chance of rain: 60 percent. Canberra Area: Cloudy. Medium chance of showers, most likely in the morning. Winds northwest at 15 to 20 km/h, becoming light northwest at 15 to 25 km/h by midday.
Sunday: Min. 3 Max. 18. Sunny. Chance of rain: 10 percent. Canberra Area: Mostly sunny. Light winds becoming northwest at 20 to 30 km/h during the morning then west at 25 to 40 km/h during the day.
The first weekend of spring is expected to be a mixed bag in terms of weather, with stretches 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 area: Mostly sunny. Winds east at 15 to 25 km/h becoming north to northeast at 20 to 30 km/h in the early afternoon then northeast at 15 to 20 km/h at night.
Saturday: Min. 25 Max. 35. Sunny. Chance of rain: 5 percent. Darwin City and Outer Darwin Area: Sunny. Light winds becoming easterly at 15 to 25 km/h in the morning then turning north to northeasterly 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 at 15 to 25 km/h during the morning and then north to northeast at 15 to 20 km/h during the afternoon.
Hobart
Forecast for the rest of Friday: Max 19. Rain. Wind. Possible precipitation: 3 to 10 mm. Chance of rain: 90 percent. Hobart Area: Cloudy. Very high chance of rain, decreasing to a medium chance of showers in the afternoon. Winds from the north to the northwest at 20 to 25 km/h becoming west to the northwest at 25 to 40 km/h in late morning and early afternoon.
Saturday: Min 8 Max 16. Partly cloudy. Possible precipitation: 0 to 1 mm. Chance of rain: 30 percent. Hobart Area: Partly cloudy. Slight chance of rain, most likely in the late morning and afternoon. Northwest winds at 20 to 30 km/h.
Sunday: Min. 9 Max. 15. Showers. Possible precipitation: 0 to 4 mm. Chance of rain: 80 percent. Hobart Area: Partly cloudy. High chance of showers. Northwest winds at 15 to 25 km/h increasing to 25 to 35 km/h during the morning then shifting to the west at 20 to 30 km/h during the afternoon.
