Hello with your national weather forecast, as we take a look at conditions as we head into the weekend, that’s Saturday the 4th and Sunday the 5th of October.

First, let's jump straight into the synoptic map, and we see there are two weather systems really driving the conditions across much of Australia. First, this high pressure system over the east is generating clear skies, and that's allowing temperatures to really build across the weekend. Across the south-east of the country we’ll finally see a return to sunshine after what has been quite a wintry week across Victoria and Tasmania. The high does move out to the Tasman Sea late in the weekend, though, and that will bring more heat down across the east of the country.

Over in the west though, a bit of a different story with the cloud and rainband pouring onto Western Australia. It does have a bit of a tropical link and is sweeping across with this cold front moving through to the south, so we'll see showers, areas of rain and thunderstorms increasing across Western Australia on Saturday, that will actually push into the south-east from Sunday. We could see some damaging winds and moderate rainfall totals. So for that weather system, we do have a dedicated Weather Update video which is available on our social media channels. But for the rest of the country, we are expecting just a few showers about the Queensland coast, mostly up in the tropics and across Torres Strait, otherwise looking like a mostly settled Saturday for many.

Now, state-by-state look, starting off in Queensland. We are expecting a sunny day across the state. Just a slight chance of a shower along the south-east coast during the morning, and a few showers up in the tropics. But temperature-wise, we are expecting a little bit of cooler temperatures compared to the last few days, but despite these cooler temperatures there is still high fire danger for central and northern parts of the state. For Brisbane, partly cloudy with a top of 27 °C. Sunny up in Cairns with a top of 32 °C.

Now for New South Wales, you will see a little bit of cloud and patchy showers about the coastal fringes during the morning. Also patchy fog and frost in the south-east, but otherwise looking to be a dry day. Temperatures quite warm in the west, reaching the high 20s to low 30s, but will be milder in the east with cooler southerly winds pushing right up the coast. And for Sydney we are expecting a sunny top of 23 °C. In Canberra, a cool start at 2 °C, then a sunny top of 23 °C there.

Now to Victoria, we’ll see a little bit of fog around in the morning, including around the Melbourne area. There may be a bit of patchy frost in the north-east of the state with those cooler overnight temperatures. But once that fog lifts we are expecting quite a mild to warm day and certainly temperatures are the highest that they’ve been all through the week, and for some the highest we’ve seen since autumn. So for Melbourne, a bit of fog around in the morning, then a sunny top of 25 °C. Warm in Mildura with a top of 30 °C.

For Tasmania, we’ll see a little bit of patchy fog and also cloud about the west in the morning. Just a slight chance of a very light shower, but that will gradually clear as we head into the afternoon and we are expecting a mostly sunny day to follow. Northerly winds will push down and temperatures will be slightly above average for this time of year. So for Hobart, partly cloudy with 22 °C. High-teens to low 20s across northern parts of Tasmania.

In South Australia, northerly winds will push cloud right off the coast, so it will be a sunny morning and quite a warm day to follow as well. Maximum temperatures up to 16 degrees above average through the west, also very warm through the east. Adelaide sunny, a top of 29 °C. That’ll be your warmest day since April and quite warm all the way up into the north. Later on Saturday we will see a little bit of high cloud developing from the west as this trough pushes through to the south of the state.

Now to Western Australia. We are expected to see showers right from the get-go, heaviest about the south-west between Perth and down towards Albany, and you will see the showers extend into parts of the Gascoyne and also the Goldfields through the afternoon and evening. There is also the chance of a thunderstorm. Temperatures a little bit cooler with that cloud cover, and later in the day once that cold front pushes through, the winds will swing around to that cooler south-westerly across the south-western parts of the state. Away from the rain and cloud band though, we are expecting sunny conditions, warm temperatures up to 40 °C across eastern parts of the state, and remaining warm up into the Pilbara, reaching the mid to high 30s.

For northern Australia, not much change compared to the last few days, still very warm to hot. A very hot day in Darwin, 37 °C, with extreme fire danger there. Otherwise, we do see maximum temperatures reaching the mid to high 30s for parts of the Kimberley.

So now a quick look at your Sunday. We see this cold front continue to push through to the south. That will bring even more heat across the south-east. So very warm conditions on the way for Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney and also Hobart. We will see some showers developing later in the day and the possibility of some very windy conditions across alpine areas. Those showers do continue out in the west, a cold day in Perth, just 20 °C. Otherwise we don’t really see much change compared to the last few days. Meaning dry and settled across much of central and northern Australia.

That’s the forecast for this weekend. Stay up to date with the latest information and warnings across the weekend on our website and app. Follow us on social media and as always, have a great weekend!