High fire danger in southern states

A cool change will ease conditions for most states by the start of the weekend but the threat of bushfire remains high for Friday.

Here’s what the weather looks like in every state.

Fire danger heightens in parts of Victoria

A blaze is still burning northeast of Melbourne after tearing through close to 1000 hectares of land surrounding the town of Flowerdale.

A farmer has apologised for accidentally starting the fire when sparks flew from a grinder he was using to fix a fence on his property.

Firefighters have taken advantage of milder overnight conditions and established control lines along the northeast side of the fire.

This has increased smoke in the area and neighbouring towns have been warned it could hang around for a few days to come.

A total fire ban has been declared in the Wimmera and South West districts.

No fires can be lit or are allowed to remain alight in the open air until 11:59 PM on Friday.

A low-intensity heatwave is on an easing trend across the state although not before one last blast of heat as temperatures climb to 38C in southeast regions.

Fire danger is at an elevated high on Friday with hot and dry conditions combining with fresh and gusty northerly winds.

A cool south-westerly change in the far west will arrive in the evening though there is a risk of thunderstorms and dry lightning over western districts.

Heatwave in WA

A cool change moving through Western Australia has nipped a severe heatwave in the bud with maximum temperatures due to drop down into the high teens by the end of the week.

Severe heatwave conditions are beginning to ease in most parts of the state as the weather system is downgraded to a low-intensity heatwave.

Fire weather warning in SA

A fire weather warning is in place over multiple regions of South Australia on Friday.

Very hot, dry and windy conditions are forecast ahead of a cool change moving across western and southern parts during the day.

It will bring the chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon.

The Eastern Eyre Peninsula, Lower Eyre Peninsula, Flinders, Mid North, Mount Lofty Ranges, Yorke Peninsula, Upper South East and Lower South East will likely be impacted.

The Country Fire Service is advising residents to monitor the fire and weather situation.

NSW

After some spotty showers in the morning, the wet weather has pushed up the north coast of NSW on Friday.

It will mean the sun is out and shining ahead of the LGBTQIA+ Mardi Gras parade before it returns to Oxford Street on Saturday.

Maximum temperatures are expected to climb to 28C with clear skies for the evening parade which is expected to attract thousands of attendees as it coincides with the city’s hosting of World Pride.

Queensland

Rain is dominating the weather in southeast Queensland where thunderstorms are hugging the coastline with showers and storms forecast including Brisbane, Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast.

Temperatures remain in the high twenties for most parts of the region.

Tasmania

A severe heatwave warning is still in place for the south-coast of Tasmania with conditions expected to peak on Friday.

Locations likely to be impacted include Bellerive, Cygnet, Dover, Geeveston, Glenorchy, Huonville, Kingston, Melaleuca, Richmond and Sorell.

Conditions are likely to ease over the weekend with the passage of a cold front.

ACT

Canberra is due to see mostly sunny weather with cloud cover keeping temperatures under 30C for the weekend.

Despite this, there is a moderate fire danger for the territory on Friday.

NT

The wet season continues to bring heavy falls to the Top End with rainfall totals of up to 60mm on Friday and Saturday near Darwin.

Temperatures are relatively low for the region at a maximum of 30C for the weekend.