Stormy, hot weather forecast for most of Australia with flash flooding risk in NSW and Queensland
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BoM says expected storms in Brisbane and severe thunderstorms and heavy rain in Sydney due to lingering north-easterly winds. A stormy and hot weekend is in store for most of Australia with tempestuous weather continuing in the north and along the east coast, while some parts of the country swelter through dry conditions and severe heatwaves.
Central and south-east Queenslanders were warned that widespread severe thunderstorms on Saturday may bring large hail, damaging winds and heavy rainfall with the threat of flash flooding, while temperatures were expected to climb into the mid-40s in the west of the state.
Brisbane was also expected to be stormy on Saturday with a forecast high of 25C, while similar temperatures and rainfall activity were forecast to continue on Sunday. Sign up for a weekly email featuring our best reads. Severe thunderstorms were also expected in New South Wales, along with heavy rain and the risk of flash flooding, including in Sydney, where the forecasted maximum temperature was 26C.
Angus Hines, senior meteorologist at the Bureau of Meteorology, said the thunderstorms and extensive rain were partly thanks to prolonged north-easterly winds bringing humidity off the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean and dumping the humidity on land. “That’s been working in tandem with a slow-moving weather system in the upper atmosphere … a slow-moving upper level trough,” Hines said. “It just provides that extra energy, which means that if any showers and storms do start to form in those humid conditions, then they can really quickly develop and intensify.”.
