Rain Easing in Eastern Australia

First to the synoptic map, and the main weather feature continues to be the surface trough off the coast of New South Wales, bringing widespread rain and potential flooding. We'll be releasing a dedicated severe weather video update focusing on that rain and flooding, and that will be available on our social media channels later on Thursday afternoon.

For the rest of Friday, though, that rain will gradually clear off the New South Wales coast and ease to showers. Showers also possible across parts of the Queensland coast. Further south, though, there is a pair of weakening cold fronts moving through the Bight that will brush South Australia and Victoria into the afternoon and reach Tasmania later in the evening, but not expecting too much in the way of rainfall out of those two systems. Out in the West there is a developing cloud band over north western parts of Western Australia. We'll see a little bit of rain developing in the afternoon and into the evening, but that will become more widespread across Western Australia as we head into the weekend.

The rest of Australia, though, we are dominated by this high pressure system here, it is leading to clear conditions all the way from the Nullarbor and up towards the top end of the country.

So now a state by state look starting off with Queensland. We'll see a few showers in the morning, move off the coast with that rain band, but they will redevelop through the day mostly south about Rockhampton and east of about Roma. A few showers also for the Queensland North East tropical coast. Otherwise looking like a drier and also warmer day, particularly across western parts of the state. Daytime temperatures reaching the mid 20s even up into the low 30s, and will be a warm a day across the southeast of the state. Still a few showers about Brisbane with the top of 24 degrees and up in Cairns a shower or two with a top of 30.

For New South Wales rain across the coast in the morning. That will clear off the Northern rivers and the mid-north coast before dawn. For areas south of the Hunter, that rain eases back to showers through the afternoon. We see a few showers lingering about the coast through there, and we may also see flooding continuing even after the rain has stopped. The rest of New South Wales though looking dry out in the west. Warming up as well with maximum temperatures reaching the low 20s. Warmer along the coast as well. In Canberra, a possible shower with a top of 18 degrees. Sydney morning rain easing back to showers by the afternoon with the top of 19 degrees.

Now to Victoria, will be a dry morning to start with and cloud will increase from the west as that cold front approaches. We'll see a few showers developing across the far south west of the state from the morning. That'll extend to central and eastern districts to the afternoon and evening. Not big rainfall totals are expected though, but 1 to 2mm about the south west and less than a millimetre elsewhere, including for Melbourne. But temperatures will be quite mild for this time of year. But fresh to strengthening northerly winds will mean it will be a little bit cooler than that. So reaching 21 for Mildura, Melbourne, a possible shower in the afternoon and evening with a top of 19 degrees.

Now to Tasmania, we see cloud increasing as that cold front approaches. Showers becoming more widespread across the north of the state and also across the west as that approaches, but not expecting big rainfall totals through that either. Northerly winds will freshen through the day. It will be Mild for this time of year, reaching 18 degrees in Hobart with a possible shower. 16 up in Launceston.

In South Australia we've got that cold front brushing the south coast. Really, only a few showers expected across western and southern parts of Eyre Peninsula, also the Yorke Peninsula and Kangaroo Island, by the time it reaches Adelaide and the south east of the state, most of that rainfall will have evaporated so not expecting any big rainfall totals out of that and clearing quite quickly as that high pressure system moves in from the west. For Adelaide, a possible shower with a top of 18 degrees, milder in the south but warming up across the north and remaining dry through there.

To Western Australia partly cloudy in the south west. Possible shower about the coast, including around the Perth area. Otherwise, from the afternoon the focus will shift to the north west of the state as this cloud band with a tropical link starts to push down across the state. We'll see a few showers to the western Pilbara and northern Gascoyne, but that will become much more widespread and extend down into the goldfields as we head into the weekend. For Perth, possible morning fog about the hills and a possible shower later on in the day with a top of 19 degrees.

Finally, across northern Australia, typical dry season conditions continue. We are looking at sunny and clear conditions warming up across Alice Springs, 28 degrees, and in Darwin a sunny top of 33.

That's your forecast for today. Stay up to date with the latest forecast and information on our website, follow us on social media. And as always, have a great day.