Sweltering summer-like heat, wild winds, bushfire warnings and rain are all in play for parts of during a rollercoaster first weekend of spring.
The Bureau of Meteorology forecast Sydney could reach a balmy maximum of 30C on Friday, well above the 19C reported on the same day last year.
Conditions are set to ease into the weekend, with the Bureau forecasting temperatures to dip to as low as 16C on Sunday with up to 1mm of rain forecast.
Meanwhile much of the country’s south is preparing for another lashing of damaging winds across Friday with peak gusts of up to 105km predicted.
The Bureau of Metoerology warned higher temperatures combined with strong winds could raise the risk of fire danger, though no warnings are in place as of Friday morning.
A satellite image from the Bureau shows there are a raft of detected hot spots, likely small fires caused by lightning strikes, along the eastern edge of NSW and Southern Queensland.
On Friday, the ACT, southern and central tablelands, south coast, and Blue Mountains, Illawarra, and Snowy Mountains are set for high winds.
To the south, Melbourne is forecast for a drenching of up to 10mm of rain on Friday before the rain clouds ease and the temperatures drop into the weekend.
The Garden City is forecast to reach a potential high of 24C on Friday, before dipping to maximums of 18C over the weekend with minimums as low as 11C.
Damaging wind warnings are also in place for large areas of Victoria’s east into Friday morning with the alpine regions, as well as Central and Gippsland districts and the outer suburbs of Melbourne and Geelong affected.
Further west, Adelaide is set to reach 20C on Friday, dipping slightly into the weekend, with a maximum of 8mm down to just 1mm of rain forecast.
Brisbane, meanwhile, is unlikely to receive a drop of rain over the weekend, with clear skies, sunny conditions, and maximum 29C.
The same cannot be said for Tasmania where after floods last week, Hobart is forecast to receive up to 10mm on Friday before also largely dissipating.
Minor flood warnings remained in place for the Macquarie, Isis, Lake, Meander, Mersey, North Esk, and South Esk rivers.
Perth was forecast to receive up to 3mm of rain on Friday, with maximum temperatures not expected to exceed 22C over the weekend.
Fire weather warnings were in place on Thursday for the Central Interior region of Western .
Elsewhere, Darwin was forecast for highs of 35C with scant chances of rain, while Canberra was expected to reach 24C on Friday.
Sydney
Forecast for the rest of Friday: Max 30. Sunny. Chance of any rain: 5 per cent. Sydney area: Sunny. Winds northwesterly 20 to 30 km/h.
Saturday: Min 19 Max 24. Possible shower developing. Possible rainfall: 0 to 1 mm. Chance of any rain: 40 per cent. Sydney area: Sunny morning. Medium chance of showers in the afternoon and evening. Winds northwesterly 15 to 20 km/h shifting southeasterly 15 to 25 km/h in the morning.
Sunday: Min 15 Max 24. Possible morning shower. Possible rainfall: 0 to 1 mm. Chance of any rain: 40 per cent. Sydney area: Partly cloudy. Slight chance of a shower in the morning. Light winds.
Brisbane
Forecast for the rest of Friday: Max 26. Partly cloudy. Chance of any rain: 5 per cent. Brisbane area: Partly cloudy. Light winds becoming north to northeasterly 15 to 25 km/h in the middle of the day then becoming light in the late evening.
Saturday: Min 14 Max 28. Sunny. Chance of any rain: 5 per cent. Brisbane area. The chance of fog in the west in the early morning. Sunny day. Light winds becoming north to northeasterly 15 to 25 km/h in the middle of the day then becoming light in the evening.
Sunday: Min 14 Max 29. Sunny. Chance of any rain: 0 per cent. Brisbane area: The chance of morning fog. Sunny day. Light winds becoming north to northeasterly 15 to 25 km/h during the day then becoming light during the evening.
Melbourne
Forecast for the rest of Friday: Max 24. Rain developing. Wind easing. Possible rainfall: 1 to 6 mm. Chance of any rain: 80 per cent. Melbourne area: Partly cloudy. High chance of rain, most likely in the afternoon and evening. Damaging winds possible about the outer suburbs in the morning and afternoon. Winds north to northwesterly 35 to 50 km/h turning west to southwesterly 15 to 20 km/h during the afternoon and evening.
Saturday: Min 9 Max 19. Sunny. Chance of any rain: 20 per cent. Melbourne area. Sunny day. Slight chance of a shower early in the morning and again in the evening. Light winds becoming westerly 15 to 20 km/h in the early afternoon then tending northwesterly in the evening.
Sunday: Min 11 Max 18. Showers developing. Possible rainfall: 0 to 4 mm. Chance of any rain: 80 per cent. Melbourne area: Cloudy. High chance of showers, most likely in the afternoon and evening. Winds northwesterly 15 to 20 km/h increasing to 25 to 35 km/h during the morning.
Perth
Forecast for the rest of Friday. Max 18. Shower or two. Possible rainfall: 0 to 2 mm. Chance of any rain: 60 per cent. Perth area: Mostly cloudy. Medium chance of gusty showers, becoming less likely late this afternoon and evening. Winds westerly 15 to 20 km/h becoming light in the late afternoon.
Saturday: Min 10 Max 20. Possible shower. Possible rainfall: 0 to 1 mm. Chance of any rain: 40 per cent. Perth area: Partly cloudy. The chance of morning fog about the hills. Medium chance of showers in the morning and early afternoon. Light winds.
Sunday: Min 9 Max 21. Sunny. Chance of any rain: 5 per cent. Perth area: Mostly sunny. The chance of morning fog about the hills. Light winds.
Adelaide
Forecast for the rest of Friday: Max 20. Rain, clearing late. Possible rainfall: 2 to 8 mm. Chance of any rain: 95 per cent. Adelaide area: Cloudy. Very high chance of rain, most likely in the late morning and afternoon, then clearing in the evening. Winds southwesterly 15 to 25 km/h tending westerly in the morning.
Saturday: Min 10 Max 18. Possible shower. Possible rainfall: 0 to 1 mm. Chance of any rain: 40 per cent. Adelaide area. Partly cloudy. Medium chance of showers about the hills and southern suburbs, slight chance elsewhere. Light winds becoming west to northwesterly 15 to 25 km/h in the morning.
Sunday: Min 11 Max 18. Showers. Possible rainfall: 1 to 6 mm. Chance of any rain: 90 per cent. Adelaide area: Partly cloudy. High chance of showers. Winds westerly 25 to 35 km/h.
Canberra
Forecast for the rest of Friday: Max 24. Becoming windy. Sunny. Chance of any rain: 10 per cent. Canberra area: Sunny. Winds northwesterly 30 to 50 km/h.
Saturday: Min 11 Max 20. Shower or two. Possible rainfall: 0 to 2 mm. Chance of any rain: 60 per cent. Canberra area: Cloudy. Medium chance of showers, most likely in the morning. Winds northwesterly 15 to 20 km/h becoming light before dawn then becoming northwesterly 15 to 25 km/h in the middle of the day.
Sunday: Min 3 Max 18. Sunny. Chance of any rain: 10 per cent. Canberra area: Mostly sunny. Light winds becoming northwesterly 20 to 30 km/h during the morning then tending westerly 25 to 40 km/h during the day.
Darwin
Forecast for the rest of Friday: Max 34. Mostly sunny. Chance of any rain: 5 per cent. Darwin City and Outer Darwin area: Mostly sunny. Winds easterly 15 to 25 km/h turning north to northeasterly 20 to 30 km/h in the early afternoon then becoming northeasterly 15 to 20 km/h in the evening.
Saturday: Min 25 Max 35. Sunny. Chance of any rain: 5 per cent. Darwin City and Outer Darwin area: Sunny. Light winds becoming easterly 15 to 25 km/h in the morning then turning north to northeasterly in the middle of the day.
Sunday: Min 25 Max 36. Sunny. Chance of any rain: 10 per cent. Darwin City and Outer Darwin area: Sunny. Light winds becoming east to southeasterly 15 to 25 km/h during the morning then turning north to northeasterly 15 to 20 km/h during the afternoon.
Hobart
Forecast for the rest of Friday: Max 19. Rain. Becoming windy. Possible rainfall: 3 to 10 mm. Chance of any rain: 90 per cent. Hobart area: Cloudy. Very high chance of rain, easing to a medium chance of showers in the afternoon. Winds north to northwesterly 20 to 25 km/h tending west to northwesterly 25 to 40 km/h in the late morning and early afternoon.
Saturday: Min 8 Max 16. Partly cloudy. Possible rainfall: 0 to 1 mm. Chance of any rain: 30 per cent. Hobart area: Partly cloudy. Slight chance of a shower, most likely in the late morning and afternoon. Winds northwesterly 20 to 30 km/h.
Sunday: Min 9 Max 15. Showers. Possible rainfall: 0 to 4 mm. Chance of any rain: 80 per cent. Hobart area: Partly cloudy. High chance of showers. Winds northwesterly 15 to 25 km/h increasing to 25 to 35 km/h during the morning then turning westerly 20 to 30 km/h during the afternoon.