Torrential downpours to hit large parts of Australia on the weekend but major cities will get some relief – here’s when you should head to the beach
- Central Australia to be hit by torrential rain and flooding over the weekend
- Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane will get some showers but these will clear
- Perth is in for a scorcher with the mercury to hit 40C on Saturday and Sunday
Large parts of Australia face a wet weekend but major cities in the east can expect a few sunny breaks as the La Nina summer ‘reaches its peak’.
Five-day weather models show almost all of the northern half of the country should expect rain, which will elevate to torrential falls through central Australia, particularly from Uluru down to the Great Australian Bight.
‘There’ll be significantly heavy rain in central parts of South Australia from Friday – up to 140mm and the area is very dry so there’s a high risk of flooding,’ Weatherzone meteorologist Joel Pippard told Daily Mail Australia.
‘Further north there’s a monsoon trough building so there’s also rain expected for the whole northern part of the country.’
But for those in capital cities, the weekend is looking summer-like with some showers that will clear amid warm temperatures.
The five-day rainfall model for Australia show huge downpours in the Outback (in purple) from Uluru to the Great Australian Bight
Sydneysiders (pictured) are set to get some showers on Friday and Saturday but these should clear into the afternoons and Sunday is forecast to be quite dry
‘For Sydney there is forecast showers on Friday and Saturday but these should ease in the afternoons and Sunday should be pretty dry,’ Mr Pippard said.
Temperatures are expected to hover between 25C and 30C in Sydney.
Brisbane is looking similar with some showers but significant fine breaks in the afternoons and temperatures in the high 20s.
Melbourne looks to be in for perfect summer conditions for the Australian Open with temperatures reaching the low 30s and sunny weather throughout the weekend.
While large swathes of South Australia will be drenched, Adelaide will actually avoid most of the rain.
But temperature maximums around 30C combined with the downpours further north will make the air quite humid, with locals likely needing to turn to a beach dip or air-conditioning for some relief.
Weatherzone meteorologist Joel Pippard said there is expected to be up to 140mm of rain in central Australia with a high risk of flooding as the area is very dry (pictured: waterfalls run down Uluru in heavy rain)
‘Perth is heading into a pretty hot weekend with both days expected to hit 40C and warm nights in the mid 20s,’ Mr Pippard said.
‘All of WA will be hot – further north in the Gascoigne and Pilbara regions temperatures will hit 45C.’
As for Australia’s wet summer, Mr Pippard said that will likely continue into March but will improve somewhat.
‘La Nina has likely reached it’s peak and will slowly trend into a neutral phase, at this point its damage is mostly done for summer,’ he said.
‘That said waters are still warm in the Pacific so the eastern parts of the country will still have a fairly wet February and March while WA will remain hot and dry.’
Most capital cities will be in for good beach weather on the weekend with summer temperatures and a break from weeks of rain (pictured: Bondi in January)