sydney and melbourne will swelter through a steamy spring with more rain and higher temperatures forecast - and horrific bushfires could start weeks ear
Sydney and Melbourne will swelter through a steamy start to September - before heavy rainfall follows throughout their Covid lockdowns, forecasters predict.
Spring is forecast to bring above average rainfall for the eastern states as well as cooler days and warmer nights, the Bureau of Meteorology said.
Over in Western Australia, chilly nights will be the norm from next Wednesday, with spring days also tipped to be warmer for those who call the Northern Territory and Tasmania home.
'Temperatures will increase across much of Australia as we enter spring,' the BOM told Daily Mail Australia.
The start of spring should bring steamy weather conditions in Sydney and Melbourne, according to the Bureau of Meterology (pictured, a woman roller skating in Bondi)
Residents in capital cities such as Melbourne and Sydney will then see large volumes of rainfall in spring (pictured, a woman rugged in trendy Melbourne suburb St Kilda)
SPRING OUTLOOK IN YOUR STATE
NSW: Warmer than average temperatures and more rain than usual, particularly in early September. Days cooler but nights warmer and sticky. Higher bushfire risk in north
Victoria: Warmer and more rain than usual, but less rain that NSW and Queensland
Queensland: Consistently warmer temperatures and wetter, particularly in early September. Days cooler but nights warmer and sticky. Higher fire danger in south-east
Western Australia: Chilly nights will be the norm, but days will be warmer than average, but about the same rain as usual
South Australia: Overall higher chance of more rain but no significant temperature change
Northern Territory: Warmer days and warmer temperatures overall with an early start to wet season
Tasmania: Warmer spring days
'Expect to see consistent warmer temperatures in Queensland, Western Australia, and the Northern Territory.
'Brisbane and Sydney will then have slightly more rainfall than Melbourne in early September.'
Bureau climatologist Dr Andrew Watkins said overall predictions for a wetter and warmer spring come after a particularly rain-drenched winter.
'Nationally, we have seen the wettest winter since 2016,' he said.
'Australia's average winter temperature is also expected to be one of the ten warmest on record, particularly in the tropical north.'
Dr Watkins said the main reason behind the Bureau's prediction for a wetter than average start to spring was a climate phenomenon known as the Indian Ocean Dipole.
'We've currently got a negative IOD... which typically brings an increased chance of rainfall to southern and eastern Australia,' he said.
'This negative IOD is expected to persist throughout spring but is currently weaker than the last negative IOD event we saw in 2016, which brought Australia's wettest May to October on record.'
Australia's bushfire season could also start earlier than usual, according to weather experts.
Northern NSW, southeast Queensland and parts of WA's north are set for above-normal fire activity this spring, despite wet weather remaining across much of the country.
Bureau climatologist Dr Andrew Watkins said overall predictions for a wetter and warmer spring come after a particularly rain drenched winter at some stages (pictured, a woman at Sydney's Bondi Beach during lockdown)
Weather experts have revealed some parts of Australia will see a wet start to spring, following patterns from winter (pictured a woman with an umbrella in Sydney's east)
The spring bushfire outlook released on Thursday shows normal bushfire potential for most of Australia with a few exceptions.
Grass and crop growth in southeast Queensland and northern NSW are raising the potential for above-normal fire conditions.
The same risk rating is in place for snippets of WA's north due to grass growth and dry soil.
The outlook was jointly developed by the Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities, the Bureau of Meteorology, and local fire authorities.
'Like last year, we can expect a grassfire-dominated start to the fire season,' Victoria's Country Fire Authority Chief Officer Jason Heffernan said.