National Weather Forecast: Storms Across North, Sunny Elsewhere

Today's Wednesday, but we're breaking down Thursday's weather across the country. And if you could draw an imaginary line through the middle of Australia from about Rockhampton on the Queensland coast across to Exmouth on the Western Australia coastline, anywhere north of that line, pretty good chance of seeing showers or thunderstorms during Thursday.

We've got lots of wet and stormy conditions across our northern areas, but for the majority of people south of that line over the rest of Australia, high pressure will mean a clear, dry and mostly sunny day.

Starting in Queensland, we expect to see showers or thunderstorms across coastal spots from Rockhampton up to Cairns, particularly once we get into the late morning and afternoon. And that wet weather could actually extend right out across western inland parts as well, through the likes of Longreach, Mount Isa, and out towards the Northern Territory border there.

That doesn't mean that everywhere in northern Queensland will see showers or storms tomorrow, but the risk is certainly extensive. And some of those thunderstorms could bring pockets of heavy rain, which may lead to flooding.

For southern Queensland on Thursday, avoiding all of that and having a bright, sunny day, Brisbane headed towards 32°C. Similar conditions across the remainder of south-east Queensland, also fine through the Darling Downs, Maranoa and Warrego and out to the south-west.

The New South Wales coast will be one of those rare spots through the southern half of the country that might see a little bit of rainfall tomorrow. Certainly not a lot, but a few showers through Wollongong, Sydney, maybe Newcastle, Maitland, even up towards Coffs Harbour, probably just bringing between 1 mm and 5 mm into the rain gauges there, with some sunny breaks in between those showers.

The rest of the state will be nice, bright and sunny, quite warm as well. We'll actually see Canberra headed towards 32°C, but we'll be expecting upper 30s out towards western New South Wales.

A bright and sunny day is forecast for Victoria for Thursday. A little bit of cloud through the morning hours in our southern areas, that should mostly burn away to bright blue skies for the afternoon.

Temperature wise, we'll be expecting mid 20s through the south of the state and low 30s up in the north.

A nice day is also forecast for eastern and northern Tasmania. There'll be some passing cloud at times and maybe some moderate breezes pushing through as well. Temperatures ranging from 21°C around Hobart to about 26°C for Swansea and Launceston.

The westerly wind will bring a few showers to the west coast and perhaps down in the south as well.

Dry weather is also forecast for South Australia. There could be some light to moderate southerly winds throughout the day, a bit of a breeze blowing through, and that could carry a touch of cloud across our southern facing areas.

Temperatures around about 30°C in and around Adelaide and the Peninsulas. Warmer than that as you track further north, closer to 40°C across the northern pastoral districts.

Warm weather on the forecast for southern Western Australia. We'll see temperatures up to 37°C and a sunny day for Perth, with 39°C in Geraldton and Northam as well.

A stiff easterly wind blowing across this area will actually drive some higher fire dangers on Thursday, including Extreme Fire Dangers around parts of the Perth Hills and a few other spots in the south-west. So certainly take some care and caution outdoors tomorrow.

We will see fine weather up across the Gascoyne and the Pilbara as well. Some showers and storms possible over the north interior.

And showers and storms are extensive across this area throughout the day on Thursday, really getting going through the afternoon hours. Some of the storms which do ramp up could bring pockets of heavy rainfall across the Territory.

A few areas to watch out for where we might see some significant accumulations include Broome and the Kimberley, as well as the central Top End and even central parts of the Territory, right down here towards Alice Springs, as well as much of northern and interior Queensland.

So lots of action for northern Australia, but a pretty settled day lies ahead for the south.

You can always double check the fine print and get the latest details at the Bureau's website or on the BOM Weather app.

Thank you so much for watching.