Tom Saunders

A cold front moving through Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania is expected to be followed by heavy rain, storms and potentially the first east coast low for 2024.

Australia's wild weather this week reflects a summer filled with heatwaves, thunderstorms and heavy rain, and it's set to continue. 

There has been a marked shift in the weather pattern across eastern Australia during the past 48 hours. The result will be a week-long spell of showers and thunderstorms from tropical Queensland to eastern Victoria.

Up to 100 millimetres of rain has fallen over a wide range of northern New South Wales reducing the number of fires that have been burning for days.

Residents of south-east NSW were treated to a surprise mid-spring snowfall on Monday, while in the north searing heat sent temperatures to their highest October levels in more than a decade.

Brisbane teams are seemingly bringing the Queensland heat south for the football finals this weekend as another burst of unseasonable temperatures engulfs Australia.

The Bureau of Meteorology formally declares an El Niño weather event, months after the World Meteorological Organization announced the same.

A glance at the Bureau of Meteorology’s rain forecast would suggest almost no chance of a wet June, so why are the seasonal and weather forecasts contradicting each other?

If El Niño develops as expected, Australia is likely to see a reduction in rain, warmer average maximum temperatures, increased frequency and intensity of extreme hot days and a heightened risk of bushfires.

Wet weather will dampen long weekend plans as thunderstorms hit Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Canberra over Easter.