Hello. Happy Friday.

We have made it through to the weekend.

Let us check out what the weather has in store across the nation for the next couple of days. Throughout the week so far, the weather pattern has been very stagnant. It has not shifted much, but over the next few days it certainly will.

We will continue to see wet and stormy conditions as a risk across much of northern Australia, including large parts of northern and western Queensland, the majority of the Territory, and northern and interior Western Australia as well.

But there are a couple of changes in the next few days.

Firstly, this low pressure area developing over south-eastern parts of the Northern Territory is going to really enhance the rainfall in this area over the outback, not just for Saturday but for about the next 5 to 7 days. We expect to see a lot of rain over central parts of Australia.

Also during the course of the weekend we will see some of that rain start to push into the southern states. Not too much on Saturday, just a bit around South Australia and southern Western Australia. But by Sunday that rain will certainly stretch across the south of the country.

Let us go state by state for Saturday’s weather forecast.

It will be a pleasant Saturday across south-eastern Queensland. Temperatures around 30 °C in and around Brisbane, also pushing into the southern interior. It will be fine and bright.

A couple of showers are possible across the coast between Bundaberg and Mackay, but the risk of heavier showers and thunderstorms is further north around the Herbert, Lower Burdekin and the North Tropical Coast. So spots like Bowen, Townsville, Ingham, Cairns and Port Douglas could all see some heavy falls, some storms and some potential flooding.

We will also see continued rain through central and particularly western areas around that low pressure area. Expect a wet weekend for areas around and south of Mount Isa.

Some thunderstorms are likely to develop around the middle of the day about the central and northern ranges. We are really looking at the Blue Mountains, Central Tablelands and Northern Tablelands seeing some stormy weather.

Most of that will be up in the ranges, but there is a chance that one or two of these storm cells could drift out towards the east and may impact the likes of Sydney, Newcastle, Port Macquarie and Coffs Harbour. You could see some storms down at sea level.

If that happens, it might feel like it has come out of nowhere because the day will probably be bright and sunny and then a storm could move overhead.

Clear, sunny skies through southern and western parts of the state, and quite warm weather right across New South Wales.

Not a lot to point out weather wise for Victoria on Saturday. It is a calm, benign and sunny day. We may not even see a single drop of rain in any of the rain gauges across the state.

Any early cloud will dissipate quickly. The sun will come out. Temperatures in the mid to upper twenties through southern areas and the mid to upper thirties through northern parts.

For Tasmania, there may be a bit of morning cloud, but that should burn off quickly and then it will be a lovely second half of the day. Bright, clear and sunny.

Temperatures relatively warm as well, ranging from 21 °C in the west to 28 °C in the north-east. Hobart 23 °C with a little bit of a breeze but plenty of sunshine. A nice looking day.

The morning will be bright, sunny and clear for South Australia, but we anticipate cloud to start spreading across the state through the middle of the day.

During the afternoon we will see some rain developing in the far north and out in the far west, and by the evening some of that wet weather might be affecting the Eyre Peninsula as well.

On Sunday that rain will become much more widespread and extensive, but for now it is mainly around the fringes of the state and across the far west.

Some gusty southerly winds are expected throughout Western Australia, particularly along the coastline. It will be quite a breezy day there and that will keep temperatures a little cooler than they have been over the last few days, as Perth drops back to 27 °C.

It will remain hot over the Wheatbelt and the Goldfields, with temperatures of 34 °C and 39 °C through central parts. Cloudy across the south coast. We could also see some rain and even some thunderstorms over the interior and through the Eucla, and across the north.

We are really going to be paying close attention to what happens in eastern and south-eastern parts, particularly the Barkly and Simpson Desert areas, where rain is expected to become extensive and widespread from this weekend through until about the middle of next week.

That could lead to flooding and road closures through the outback, and may cause some of those rivers to start to flow, including the Todd River through Alice Springs.

We might not see such persistent or heavy rainfall through northern areas, but continued wet season conditions mean a bright day can quickly turn as a thunderstorm develops overhead.

That is Saturday.

Let us take the nationwide view for Sunday. We are really going to focus on what is happening across the south-east as rain builds through South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania.

Towards the end of the day that rain will get towards Canberra as well. Maybe a late shower for Sydney too, but not too much rain in Sydney. However, these other places could get quite a lot, with parts of the south-east seeing between 5 mm and 25 mm. Areas in the mountains are more likely to get higher totals than that.

While it is raining through the south on Sunday, it will continue to be quite bright for northern New South Wales and south-east Queensland.

Another sunny day in Perth, with showers and thunderstorms continuing across central and northern Australia.

Stay up to date through the weekend via the BOM website or the BOM Weather app.

Thanks so much for watching. See you next time.