Millions of Aussies warned to brace for 'exceedingly dangerous' weather

Almost every jurisdiction across the country has some form of weather warning in place on Friday, with emergency crews 'preparing for the worst' this weekend.

Joe Attanasio
·Senior Reporter
·4-min read
People in Sydney struggling with windy conditions and a weather map showing this weekend's cold snap.
Parts of WA, South Australia, Tasmania, New South Wales and the ACT are in for a wild and windy weekend. Source: Getty/Weatherzone

Large parts of the country are set to be hit by a mixed-bag of extreme weather in the coming days, with millions of people set to affected by severe weather warnings. Meteorologists have reminded the public conditions in certain areas are expected to become "exceedingly dangerous", warning people living along the coast in particular to remain alert.

After much of the country's southeast was battered by wild winds in the latter half of this week, forecasters say those conditions are set to return.

"Powerful westerlies and a series of embedded cold fronts" are expected to cause extremely damaging wind gusts in parts of Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania, New South Wales and the ACT between now and Monday.

A tree is seen fallen on top of a home in NSW, as much of Australia prepares to cop a battering from wild winds this weekend.
SES services along the eastern seaboard have been kept busy since Wednesday, responding to thousands of call-outs in just hours. Source: NSW SES
A trampoline impaled on a tree in NSW, as much of Australia prepares to cop a battering from wild winds this weekend.
Wild weather that's battered much of the country in recent days is set to return, with almost every part of the country expected to cop a lashing from gusty winds. Source: NSW SES

There are several severe weather warnings in place across five of the jurisdictions as of 10am on Friday. In NSW, "vigorous winds and damaging gusts" are likely to persist until Monday, throughout the southern and central ranges and the south coast. These potentially damaging winds will also affect parts of the ACT, according to Weatherzone.

Victoria will also experience further rounds of damaging winds between now and Monday. The strongest winds will occur in elevated and coastal areas, including Gippsland, while places exposed to northwesterly winds will also experience frequent showers in the next five days.

In Western Australia, damaging winds are expected across parts of the state’s southern coastline on Thursday in the wake of a cold front. Thursday’s winds will also combine "with inland heat to produce Extreme Fire Danger in parts of the South Interior and Eucla districts", Weatherzone warned.

The cold front will pass over South Australia, causing a "prolonged period of vigorous west to northwesterly winds from Friday and Sunday".

Tasmania will be buffeted by powerful winds, "squally showers, thunderstorms" and — even periods of snow between Friday and Monday, with the entire state under a severe weather warning. Weatherzone said there "won’t be much respite from the wind in the next five days", with blizzards likely as a result.

A huge tree lays uprooted over a car in NSW, as much of Australia prepares to cop a battering from wild winds this weekend.
SES crews say they're now 'preparing' for the worst as the gusty conditions ramp up. Source: NSW SES

Rain-softened soil will also increase the risk of falling trees over the next five days, with SES services across the country "preparing for the worst". "Since severe and destructive winds struck parts of NSW, our incredible volunteers have responded to 1,286 incidents," the NSW branch wrote online.

On Thursday alone, crews were kept busy with 1,100 incidents including fallen trees and powerlines, damaged roofs and properties, it said.

In Victoria, a man has died, and a woman is in critical condition after a falling tree crushed their car on Wednesday. More than 1,000 emergency call-outs across multiple states occurred over the last two days, with the state's SES warning on Friday "damaging winds have redeveloped".

Wind gusts across Victoria are expected to reach 120kilometres per hour in some parts.

Meanwhile in northern NSW and Queensland

According to one meteorologist, it's expected this is merely the beginning. "It’s going to be exceedingly dangerous," said Sky News Weather meteorologist Rob Sharpe. "Plenty more trees will come toppling down. We’ll watch a series of further fronts, one coming through Saturday morning, another Saturday night and then again on Sunday night.

"Right through until Monday it’s going to remain windy for the southeast — there won’t be a let up in those severe weather warnings for southeastern Australia, they’ll just be chopping and changing."

While wild winds will are the most hazardous conditions forecast across the coming days, though some flood warnings are also in place along the country's east.

Tasmanians have been warned they'll likely cop the brunt of the choppy conditions, with Queensland and the Northern Territory the only two jurisdictions across the country with relatively calm forecasts. There are no severe weather warnings in place in the NT as of Friday.

Meanwhile in northern NSW and Queensland, temperatures are set to soar, with some fire warnings in place. Brisbane is forecast to reach 34 degrees on Saturday and will push the record for the the warmest August day on record.

A full and compressive list of all weather warnings across the weekend can be found here.

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