States on fire alert amid extreme heat and gusty winds
Heatwave conditions across large swathes of eastern Australian have prompted extreme fire danger ratings, with people urged to vigilantly monitor conditions.
Weather
More than 100 interstate personnel are headed to Victoria, where blazes have been burning for days, to help manage forecast catastrophic fire conditions.
Threats of floods, storms, bushfires and heatwaves are making summer holidays difficult to plan and navigate for tourists.
Australia's bushfire season is off to a worrying start with out-of-control blazes burning in multiple states and a barrage of high temperatures incoming.
Update
Temperatures soar as heatwave grips four states
It may be the hottest day of the year for one state as others prepare for extreme fire danger with a heatwave bearing down at the start of summer.
Weather
Heatwave warning for sweltering weekend
Canberra has been issued with a severe heatwave warning from Saturday, December 14 to Tuesday, December 17.
Weather
Thunderstorms forecast in severe weather warning
Widespread thunderstorms are forecast to develop on Sunday and Monday over the ACT and a large area of southern NSW.
Wild weather is set to continue across large tracts of the nation into the weekend as a huge weather system makes its way eastward.
A severe thunderstorm brought heavy rain that caused ceilings in businesses to collapse and hail that coated the ground like snow north of Brisbane.
A severe weather warning for damaging winds has been issued from the Victorian border north to Newcastle and inland to the Snowy Mountains and the ACT.
At its late morning update the Bureau of Meteorology has affirmed its earlier severe weather warning for damaging winds across the ACT on Monday.
Tasmanian officials are warning residents living near the River Derwent to consider evacuating, as severe weather causing serious flood risks.
As Queensland swelters through the last day of an unseasonably warm winter, severe winds and flooding are causing headaches in southeast Australia.
Extra spring rain is expected in parts of the nation while all Australians can prepare for a warmer-than-average three months ahead.
Residents in Canberra, Melbourne and Adelaide are all in the forecast firing line of thunderstorms, with a warning winds could leave a path of destruction.
Wild thunderstorms could bring large hail stones and damaging winds to three states, with the potential to trigger power outages.
As more residents take to social media complaining about cold homes, experts warn chilly interiors can impact people's health and wellbeing even if they rug up.
Residents have been warned to evacuate from several areas as flooding continues along rivers following heavy rains that caused a major dam to spill over.
Heavy rain that lashed Sydney saw the harbour city cop a month's worth of rain on the first day of winter, while parts of the WA coast were also drenched.
