Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Canberra weekend weather: Heatwave warning for millions

Emergency services are battling floods and fires on Australia’s east coast, while the west is sweltering with extreme temperatures.

Cities on the east coast will experience showers and cloudy conditions this weekend, while floods and fires continue to hit Victoria and New South Wales.

The showers over Sydney on Friday will turn partly cloudy on Saturday and Sunday, but temperatures will cool.

A high of 21 on Friday drops to 19 degrees and to 20 degrees on Saturday and Sunday, alongside a low of just 12 degrees.

Showers over Bathurst on Friday will clear in time for perfect conditions for race day on Sunday.

Daytime temperatures for the Bathurst 1000 are expected to be between 17 and 22 degrees Celsius, with wind speeds of 15 to 20 km/h decreasing throughout the day.

The weather in Canberra looks slightly cooler with a high of 17 degrees on Friday, coupled with cloudy conditions set to continue throughout the weekend.

The New South Wales Rural Fire Service issued a warning on Friday for state residents to prepare their bushfire plans as the rest of the spring is expected to be hotter and drier than average.

“It has been a busy period for firefighters, with almost 400 fires reported since last Friday across the state, including the Bega Valley, Mid-Western, Hunter and North Coast areas,” the report said.

‘We would like to thank our RFS members and fellow fire agencies for their efforts in protecting lives and property. We would also like to thank the community for listening to the advice and warnings from all agencies.

‘Although conditions are easing, the weather is expected to be warm, dry and windy next week.

‘It is important that you and your family are prepared and know what to do if you are threatened by fire.’

Flooding in Victoria’s Gippsland region has subsided since Thursday, but several communities remain under surveillance and action orders.

Residents of Port of Sale have been warned to leave the town as floodwaters continue to impact homes and roads.

“It is not safe for people to return to Port of Sale. If you have not been evacuated, you should take shelter in the highest location possible now,” VicEmergency said.

‘The Thomson River is likely to exceed the moderate flood level of 3 meters early Friday morning and reach the major flood level of 4 meters late Friday morning.

“This evacuation warning is likely to remain in effect for 12 to 24 hours or until floodwaters have subsided.”

Weather Zone meteorologist Maryam Al-Ansari said an upcoming dry spell will help clear the floods.

“The previous system that just passed through brought significant rainfall and increased river heights,” she told Daily Mail Australia.

“That system was mainly over New South Wales, so runoff flowed into Victoria in addition to mountain snowmelt.

“Those factors increased river heights and resulted in flooding. Flood warnings are still in force, but we don’t expect any significant rain in the area over the next few days.

‘Hopefully this will allow river levels to drop back to normal levels early next week.’

Melbourne is likely to see showers on Friday with southerly winds of 20 to 30 km/h.

Conditions will be partly clear to cloudy on Saturday and Sunday.

In Adelaide, rain is not expected to hit Victoria, with cloudy weather forecast for Friday, ahead of a sunny weekend with high temperatures around 20 degrees Celsius.

Friday will be Hobart’s coldest day with a high of 13 degrees Celsius and showers.

It will remain cloudy all weekend, but it will be slightly warmer with a maximum of 15 degrees on Saturday and 17 degrees on Sunday.

Cloudy weather in Brisbane is expected to develop into showers on Saturday before partly clearing on Sunday.

Northwest Australia and the Northern Territory are expected to see high temperatures this weekend, with maximum temperatures in Broome expected to remain just below 40 degrees until next week.

Darwin is expected to see a top of 35C on Friday and Saturday and 33C on Sunday.

The clouds over the city will clear on Saturday before more clouds pass over again from Sunday.

Perth is forecast to see slightly cooler weather on Friday and Saturday with highs around 30 degrees Celsius, before cooling to 25 degrees Celsius on Sunday.