For some, it’s a Christmas Day gift of rain

Rain is predicted to fall in drought-affected southeast Queens­­land and parts of NSW on Christmas Day.

Rain is forecast to begin on Tuesday in Brisbane with storms set for Christmas day. Picture: AAP

The gift of rain is predicted to fall in drought-affected southeast Queens­­land and parts of NSW on Christmas Day before mild conditions make way for a hot weekend.

Forecasters at the Bureau of Meteorology predict temperatures in most capital cities to hover in the late 20s to early 30s though the first half of the week.

Lower temperatures are expected to ease fire conditions and offer some relief to firefighters on the frontline.

Rain is forecast to begin brewing in southeast Queensland on Tuesday before storms set in on

Christmas Week Weather across the country

Christmas Day, with the temper­ature to reach 27C in Brisbane.

Sydney and Hobart are also expect­ed to be dealt mid-week showers, as a cold front moves down to the southernmost capital.

While the rain is a welcome relief­, BOM forecaster Diana Eadie said consistent rain was needed to quench rain-starved regions and help firefighters battling blazes throughout the country.

“While showers and storm are welcome because they are assoc­iated with more moisture, it is quite hit and miss. It’s not guaranteed to actually fall over the top of the fire sites,” she said.

“Thunderstorms actually bring their own risk, in that you could see an increase in spot fires from embers being transported further away from the firefront and lightning can ignite fires as well. So it’s kind of a mixed bag when it comes to this sort of increase in shower and storm activity.”

Perth is facing some of the hottest­ capital city temperatures this week, with Wednesday set to peak at 37C, but the warm and dry conditions will be unlikely to lead to a heightened fire conditions without added strong winds.

“We will see very high fire danger­ though inland parts of NSW,’’ Ms Eadie said.

“In terms of the capitals, the focus will be on Perth through to the middle part of the week.

“We’ll see very high fire danger across areas where we have seen fire activity in southwestern Western Australia … We could see fire weather warnings issued prior to Christmas Day for some areas.”

Melbourne and Adelaide are predicted to remain mostly sunny, with mild temperatures, before heating up to 36C and 39C respectiv­ely on Saturday.

A smoke haze will likely settle over Canberra in the next few days as southeasterlies carry smoke from surrounding NSW fires.

Monsoonal conditions are expected to set in the tropics, signalling the start of the cyclone season.