Only hours after the sun finally came out in Sydney yesterday, the weather took a turn for the worse. The front passes Narrabeen Beach. Picture: John Grainger Source: The Daily Telegraph
- Wild weather set to continue across the country
- South-east Australia in for the wettest weekend
- Forecasts indicate showers likely at Christmas
DO you want the good news or the bad news?
The weather bureau advises people to brace for large hailstones and flash flooding along the NSW coast.
The eastern seaboard has been lashed with rain already this month and seven-day forecasts confirm our worst fears.
In New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and Tasmania - expect rain and thunderstorms for the rest of the week.
Tom Saunders, a senior meteorologist from The Weather Channel, says wherever you are in Australia you'll need to have a brolly close at hand.
"There's definitely some rainfall on the way for most of the country in the next week," he told news.com.au.
"WA is getting heavy rain over the next couple of days and then it's going to ease over the middle of the week.
"Widespread rain and thunderstorms will affect most of south-east Australia towards the end of the week, over the weekend and heading into next week."
Forecasters say it's too early to be specific about Christmas, but all indications point towards rain.
"The Christmas period looks like it's going to be warmer than we've seen this month so there's definitely the possibility of showers," Mr Saunders added.
How is the weather where you live? Let us know below
Strong winds are expected to lash the NSW coast as the weather bureau advises people across the state to brace for large hailstones and flash flooding.
After the coldest start to December in Sydney since 1960, the weather has taken a nasty turn with the bureau issuing a severe warning for the regions last night.
"A regional warning for severe thunderstorms with large hailstones, very heavy rainfall and flash flooding covering the ACT and a large part of NSW is still in effect," a bureau statement read.
The NSW State Emergency Service (SES) responded to 50 calls yesterday as storms swept across the state, causing leaky roofs and flashing flooding, SES spokesman Phil Campbell said.
The worst-hit area for rain was Gosford, which recorded 114mm by 7:30am AEDT today - just shy of the record (125mm).
In Queensland, hotel bookings are down with many holiday-goers preferring Victoria to the Sunshine State.
Although long-term weather forecasts are not as bleak as last year, higher than average rain has been predicted for Queensland as the moist La Nina weather pattern continues.
Gold Coast Tourism chief executive Martin Winter said accommodation operators were anticipating a "solid" peak holiday season, but weather was critical.
Summer is off to a soggy start in Victoria with predictions of consecutive weekend washouts, the Herald Sun reports.
Wet and muggy conditions are forecast to return by the end of this week, bringing more rain to the soaked state.
But the jury is still out on whether Victoria will have a repeat of last year's widespread summer rain.
Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Peter Newham said conditions would improve through the week before northerly winds would bring moist conditions late on Friday.
"It should be fine between now and Thursday but then we will see a return of the instability and the possibility of storms redeveloping over the weekend," he said.
Long-range weather forecaster Dennis Luke said wet and humid conditions would continue through January.
He said Christmas Day was likely to be wet and humid while New Year's Eve should be dry and warm.
Brisbane experienced a lashing yesterday, and BoM forecaster Michelle Berry said flash flooding was a possibility.
"In Brisbane, the rain could be quite intense at times," Ms Berry told Fairfax media.
Cool months are also being felt in Canberra and Brisbane, where the coldest December temperatures have been recorded in 56 and 12 years respectively.
Temperatures in Adelaide, Melbourne and Hobart have been close to the average.
- with AAP and the Herald Sun
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