Thunderstorms and rain to hit Victoria, southeast NSW and the ACT this weekend

Victoria and the nation’s southeast is expected to be hit by thunderstorms and more rain this weekend as a “topsy-turvy” run of weather continues.

It’s set to be a wet weekend across southeast Australia as a “topsy-turvy” run of weather brings more storms in Victoria.

Up to 50mm of rain could fall in some areas in Victoria, southeast New South Wales and the ACT as a low pressure system sweeps across the region.

A band of thunderstorms could develop over central and northeast Victoria on Friday and Saturday, while southeast NSW, including Sydney and Wollongong, will see gusty southerly winds and showers with a risk of storms.

Sky News Weather metrologist Rob Sharpe said it had been a “topsy-turvy week in Melbourne and the southeast, with the wet weather coming and going, and the temperature is going up and down like a yoyo”.

“On Friday night into Saturday, a low pressure system is set to form over the top of Victoria. This will lead to heavy falls and widespread areas of rain moving east across the state,” he said.

More wet weather is on the way for Melbourne. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw

“In NSW and the ACT some showers and a few thunderstorms as well but probably no heavy falls.

“On Sunday, that wet weather will shift northwards through NSW with plenty of showers throughout the east of the state and the odd thunderstorm, and it will even poke into southeast Queensland on Sunday night.”

Mr Sharpe said some pockets could see as much as 50mm rain with widespread falls of 10 to 30mm over parts of the east and the ranges.

Weather bureau senior forecaster Tom Delamotte said a couple of days of “unstable” weather were on the way for Victoria.

Showers moved across #Victoria today with a cold front and there is more wet weather to come. Showers will continue across the north and east on Friday with widespread rain expected on Saturday, easing later in the day. Latest forecasts and warnings: https://t.co/0hRLZu2fVM pic.twitter.com/wRp0EQwcay

— Bureau of Meteorology, Victoria (@BOM_Vic) October 15, 2020

“We’re likely to see some thunderstorms develop through the northeast on Friday and they could potentially become severe with some heavy rainfall around,” he said.

On Saturday, he said there would be widespread rain with thunderstorms once again throughout the central and eastern regions of the state.

Mr Delamotte said if the rain fell as expected then there would likely be riverine flooding in the northeast Victorian catchment on Saturday.

It comes as Melbourne reached its average annual rainfall at the earliest point in the year since September 1996 overnight after 1.4mm fell in the city.

“We haven’t reached the average too often over the last couple of decades,” Mr Delamotte said.

Melbourne’s yearly average is 648.3mm with more than 648.8mm of rain already falling in 2020.

The temperature will slowly rise across southern Australia through the next week with it soaring into the 30s in Perth by Monday.

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