Another sleepless night: Thunderstorms to batter Australia AGAIN tonight with a blanket of severe rain pummelling across 1,000km – and it could mean the AFL is POSTPONED

Severe thunderstorms, torrential rain and strong winds will batter Australia's east coast once again on Saturday with fears the AFL Grand Final could be postponed. 

The weather bureau dubbed it the 'multi-state thunderstorm outbreak' and will target Queensland, New South Wales, north-east Victoria, parts of South Australia and northern parts of the Northern Territory.  

The AFL Grand Final between the Richmond Tigers and Geelong Cats at the Gabba in Brisbane on Saturday could be rescheduled due to the severe weather.

Severe thunderstorms will spread more than 1,000km across NSW, blanketing land from Broken Hill to Newcastle.

Similar heavy rainfall is likely to affect huge swathes of Queensland as far north as Cooktown, down to Brisbane, Melbourne and Tasmania. 

The 'multi-state thunderstorm outbreak' and will target Queensland, New South Wales, north-east Victoria, parts of South Australia and northern parts of the Northern Territory

Clouds seen forming above the Gabba in Brisbane ahead of the AFL Grand Final between the Richmond Tigers and the Geelong Cats

A man shelters from the rain during wet weather at Circular Quay in Sydney, with more rain due this week

Under the AFL's Extreme Weather Policy, if there are thunderstorms within 10km of the field, then the players must seek cover inside and play should be stopped.

'Under the lightning rule they can delay the match by up to an hour,' an AFL spokesperson told 7News.

'It has happened before, but it's very rare.'

The game can only resume if there is no lightning within 10km of the field for 30 minutes. 

A Bureau of Meteorology spokesperson told the publication they are more likely to play in the rain.

They said that there was only a 20 per cent chance that thunderstorms would occur within 10km of the stadium. 

The huge storm will spread across Australia from the south-east coast, heading north throughout the weekend

The Gabba ahead of the AFL Grand Final on Saturday. There are fears the game could be postponed due to severe weather 

A man uses his backpack to shelter himself from heavy rain in Sydney's CBD , with more heavy falls due all weekend

Commuters drive through the wet weather at they head towards the Melbourne city centre, which will also see heavy rain this weekend

Friday night's grim weather saw about 50 calls made to the State Emergency Services due to extensive damages. 

Bureau of Meteorology Meteorologst Helen Reid warned that it'll be a 'quite an active day' compared to Friday.

'On the whole we're expecting about 10 to 15 millimetres across the Sydney region and if there are thunderstorms you could get significantly more than that,' she told Sydney Morning Herald. 

She said heavy winds could reach up to 60km/h in coastal areas and ask residents to keep away from trees and power lines.

The bureau also warned of large hailstones could hit parts of the  Riverina district as well as flash flooding. 

The most likely affected areas include Wagga Wagga, Tumbarumba, Griffith, Narrandera, Lockhart and Darlington Point. 

Up to 15mm of rain is expected to fall in New South Wales on Saturday, according to the bureau

A car drives along a flooded road at the Barrier Highway north of Olary in South Australia on October 7 after heavy rainfall

BOM Meterologist Jonathan How warned heavy downpours are likely to continue well into the weekend. 

'It is shaping up to be a stormy and wet weekend for eastern parts of Queensland and New South Wales including Brisbane and Sydney,' Mr How said.   

'Rainfall totals this Sunday will broadly be 30-50mm across parts of eastern Australia but, when we do see those more intense thunderstorms, we could see totals of 100 and even up to 150mm for some parts.' 

When the most severe storms hit rainfall totals could exceed 100-150mm for some parts. 

Western Australia will miss out on entirely on the weather event, with sunny days and temperatures forecast in the late 20s to early 30s heading towards the weekend.  

Just last month, the bureau officially declared the country's first active La Niña in 10 years.

The weather event occurs when stronger equatorial winds, blowing east to west, cool the Pacific Ocean in the tropical north of Australia. 

During the last La Niña between 2010 and 2012, the weather bureau said Australia had one of the 'wettest two-year periods on record'.

'Widespread flooding occurred in many parts of Australia associated with the record rainfalls,' it said.

The Bureau of Meteorology has officially declared the first La Niña event since 2010 to 2012, when floods ravaged Queensland, killing 33 people. 

FIVE DAY WEATHER IN YOUR CITY 

SYDNEY     

SATURDAY: Min 19. Max 29. Shower or two. Possible storm.

SUNDAY: Min 14. Max 19. Showers.

MONDAY: Min 14. Max 19. Showers.

TUESDAY: Min 13. Max 21. Shower or two.

WEDNESDAY: Min 15. Max 21. Shower or two. 

BRISBANE     

SATURDAY: Min 19. Max 29. Partly cloudy

SUNDAY: Min 19. Max 30. Shower or two. Storm likely.

MONDAY: Min 19. Max 29. Shower or two. Possible storm.

TUESDAY: Min 18. Max 27. Shower or two.

WEDNESDAY: Min 17. Max 28. Shower or two. 

ADELAIDE     

SATURDAY: Min 12. Max 18. Shower or two.

SUNDAY: Min 9. Max 17. Cloudy.

MONDAY: Min 9. Max 18. Cloudy.

TUESDAY: Min 9. Max 20. Cloudy.

WEDNESDAY: Min 10. Max 21. Mostly sunny.

CANBERRA   

SATURDAY: Min 15. Max 22. Showers. Possible storm.

SUNDAY: Min 8. Max 14. Showers.

MONDAY: Min 6. Max 11. Showers.

TUESDAY: Min 7. Max 16. Shower or two.

WEDNESDAY: Min 8. Max 17. Shower or two.

 

MELBOURNE     

SATURDAY: Min 12. Max 16. Rain then showers. Windy.

SUNDAY: Min 9. Max 14. Showers.

MONDAY: Min 9. Max 17. Partly cloudy.

TUESDAY: Min 9. Max 18. Cloudy.

WEDNESDAY: Min 10. Max 19. Possible shower. 

PERTH     

SATURDAY: Min 12. Max 29. Mostly sunny.

SUNDAY: Min 17. Max 34. Sunny.

MONDAY: Min 19. Max 29. Partly cloudy.

TUESDAY: Min 13. Max 26. Partly cloudy.

WEDNESDAY: Min 15. Max 24. Partly cloudy. 

HOBART     

SATURDAY: Min 11. Max 16. Shower or two.

SUNDAY: Min 5. Max 13. Possible shower.

MONDAY: Min 6. Max 15. Cloudy.

TUESDAY: Min 7. Max 15. Shower or two.

WEDNESDAY: Min 9. Max 15. Shower or two.

DARWIN     

SATURDAY: Min 26. Max 34. Partly cloudy.

SUNDAY: Min 26. Max 33. Partly cloudy. 

MONDAY: Min 26. Max 33. Shower or two. Possible storm.

TUESDAY: Min 25. Max 32. Shower or two. Possible storm.

WEDNESDAY:  Min 25. Max 32. Shower or two. Possible storm.

Source: Bureau of Meteorology