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Weather forecast: 'Thunderstorm outbreak' to hit Australia's east coast

Parts of Australia’s east coast are set for days of intense thunderstorms and wet weather over Grand Final weekend due to an “unusual” weather system.

Rain is forecast on both Saturday and Sunday for the AFL and NRL Grand Finals respectively.

Weatherzone meteorologist Brett Dutschke told Yahoo News Australia a slow-moving low pressure trough could bring days of rain and thunderstorms in areas including and around Brisbane, Adelaide, Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne.

A lightning bolt hits the pylon on the Sydney Harbour Bridge in Sydney, Australia.
Sydney could see some storms this weekend. Source: Getty Images (file pic)

He added there could be multiple warnings for severe thunderstorms and flooding.

“Some locations could get thunderstorms for three or four days in a row,” Mr Dutschke said.

“We could see multiple severe thunderstorm warnings issued along with flood watches.

“We expect to see dozens of warnings related to this system.”

Mr Dutschke said the system is “unusual” for a number of reasons.

“It’s more typical of a system we see later in the year. October is generally wetter than September but this is a bit earlier than normal to get widespread rain and thunder,” he said.

“It’s also a slow-moving system giving it more time to absorb moisture.”

Southern Queensland expecting a drenching

Bureau of Meteorology’s Jonathan Gow called it a “multi-state thunderstorm outbreak”.

He said the storms will head east across the southern parts of Queensland on Wednesday before heading south on Thursday.

Mr Gow said Friday is shaping to be the “peak day” across eastern Australia.

“We’ll see widespread storms – likely severe for some parts,” he said.

“It is shaping up to be a stormy and wet weekend for eastern parts of Queensland and NSW including Brisbane and Sydney.”

Rain falls on the Brisbane central business district (CBD) in Brisbane, Australia.
A woman tries to avoid the rain in Brisbane's CBD. Source: Getty Images (file pic)

Thunderstorms have already begun forming in Queensland with the bureau warning severe storms are possible for the central and southern interior and the Darling Downs along with Rockhampton.

Brisbane’s wild weather could turn on Saturday evening with the possibility of thunderstorms leading to four consecutive days of rain.

However, it is areas close to the NSW border which are likely to receive the most hazardous weather with Dirranbandi, Goondiwindi and St George forecast for four consecutive days of thunderstorms starting from Wednesday.

Heavy falls in northern NSW

Stanthorpe and Warwick will also possibly have four days of storms either side of Friday.

However, these stormy conditions won’t make it as far east as the Gold Coast which will see rain from Sunday through to Tuesday with a top of about 10-15mm each day.

On the other side of the border - NSW towns including Moree, Walgett and Warialda could also have storms for three days on Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday.

Warialda could get up to 20mm on Thursday, 25mm Saturday and 25mm Sunday with rain continuing to Tuesday as the weather clears.

Sydney is forecast for a thunderstorm on Saturday with 5-10mm of rain. The wet weather will continue on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

Eden and surrounding areas on the NSW South Coast could get up to 25mm on Saturday.

Inland areas including Broken Hill and Menindee may get storms from Friday. Ivanhoe could get storms both Friday and Saturday.

Rain for Adelaide and Melbourne

In South Australia, Hawker, Leigh Creek and Yunta are forecast to experience thunderstorms on Friday. These areas could receive between 3-10mm.

Light showers should continue on Saturday.

Adelaide is forecast for 3-8mm Friday and 0-2mm on Saturday.

It’s about to turn muggy in Melbourne with humid conditions on Friday and Saturday accompanying the rain.

Saturday is likely to see humidity early in the morning while Friday has the potential for thunderstorms late in the day.

Showers are forecast across Friday, Saturday and Sunday with falls of about 15mm, 20mm and 1mm respectively.

The humidity is likely to be felt outside Melbourne too at areas including Kerang, Swan Hill, Cobram and Albury-Wodonga.

Albury-Wodonga is in for a drenching too with up to 40mm of rain possible on Saturday while nearby Cooryong could get up to 60mm.

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