New Year’s Eve weather forecast: what Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane can expect
Thunderstorms and cloudy skies threaten to spoil New Year’s Eve celebrations after more than a week of wild weather on Australia’s east coast.
Millions of revelers from around the world will descend on Sydney Harbor to watch the annual fireworks display that lights up the Harbor Bridge to welcome the New Year.
But both Sydney and Melbourne will see a mostly cloudy day on Sunday, with the Harbor City expecting an early shower and light winds.
The wet weather is expected to continue this evening, hopefully allowing visitors to make the most of the festivities from various vantage points around the city.
Sydney is expected to welcome the New Year with an early shower and cloudy conditions
Brisbane, on the other hand, is expected to welcome the New Year with showers starting in the afternoon and lasting into the evening.
The Bureau of Meteorology predicts up to 10mm of rain will fall in the city, ruining revelers’ plans.
The Top End is also forecast to be a soggy day which could dampen the festivities, with Darwin set to receive showers and thunderstorms.
Canberra will be cloudy with light winds all day.
In western and central Australia it is mainly sunny with highs around 30 degrees.
The forecast for New Year’s Eve will not be ideal beach weather (photo beachgoers on a Sydney beach)
Queenslanders bore the brunt of the extreme weather over the holiday period, with torrential rain and damaging winds wreaking havoc (pictured as a tree fell on a car on the Gold Coast)
Meteorologist Sarah Scully said the east coast will see showers and storms over the next two days, with rain moving briefly across NSW on Friday before heavier rainfall on Saturday.
“We’re seeing a return of those widespread showers and possible severe thunderstorms across eastern parts of Queensland and also in NSW.”
Queenslanders have had a terrible holiday season after an ‘unprecedented’ cyclonic storm tore through the state’s south-east on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
The weather system brought heavy rain and damaging winds, with the wild storms claiming the lives of ten victims, including a nine-year-old girl.