Bom reveals Christmas Day forecast as nation sweats through extreme heatwave | Australia weather

Some parts of Australia are in for sunshine and heat this Christmas, while others are forecast to have cloudy skies, cool temperatures and some rain as Santa comes to town.

The Bureau of Meteorology has released its official forecast for the holiday, with less than seven days left to wrap presents and make plans.

Queensland is forecast to have warm, humid and cloudy skies, with some areas in the northern and central parts of the state in for moderate rainfall and potential thunderstorms. Brisbane is expected to hit 33C.

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Most of New South Wales will see broadly dry and sunny conditions on Christmas Day, the Bom says. There will be a few coastal showers moving through areas along the east coast but there won’t be “too much rainfall in them”, generally 5mm or less, Bom senior meteorologist Miriam Bradbury said.

There is a chance of a thunderstorm across the north-east of NSW but, at this stage, the Bom does not expect it to become severe.

Sydney should see a top temperature of 25C on Christmas Day, and Canberra a top of 29.

Victoria is in for a generally cool to mild day, with a few isolated showers, also with very little rainfall in them. Temperatures are expected to reach the high teens south of the ranges – it’s forecast for a top of 19 in Melbourne – and a bit warmer, from the mid to high 20s, north of the ranges.

Tasmania is also in for a cooler day, with scattered showers and the chance of snow on some higher peaks around 1,000m. It will generally only reach the mid-teens in western parts of Tasmania, with Hobart forecast for a top of 17C on Christmas Day.

Things change over in the west, with Western Australia in for a very warm Christmas: temperatures in the high 30s to low 40s across western parts of the state and the interior, with Perth in for a top of 39C on Christmas Day.

The Northern Territory is expecting warm, humid and cloudy conditions in some parts of the region, with temperatures in the mid to high 30s across the central and northern parts, including the top end.

Darwin is in for a high of 32C.

Christmas celebrations will come on the back of an extreme and severe heatwave for much of southern Australia that began on Thursday and is expected to stretch into Sunday. The Bom said NSW’s mid north coast, the Illawarra, south coast and Snowy Mountains face an extreme heatwave, with some areas set for maximum temperatures in the high 30s to low 40s.

An area stretching up the coast from eastern Victoria up to Brisbane will be under a severe heatwave warning through the weekend.

“Cooler temperatures are expected to gradually develop from the south with heatwave conditions in these areas expected to peak at the end of this week and then begin to ease later over the weekend,” the Bom said in an advisory note.

The NRMA has warned parents that hot temperatures can quickly make parked cars dangerous, with heat inside surging more than 30C above outside readings.

“Even on a mild day, the temperature inside a parked car can become dangerous very quickly, placing children at immediate risk of heatstroke, dehydration and, in extreme cases, death,” the organisation said. “Reassuringly, calls to rescue children and pets locked in cars have steadily decreased over the last few years.”