Relief at last: Australia’s east coast will enjoy two weeks’ worth of rain on Christmas Eve – but fire-ravaged communities will only get a splash
- Eastern parts of New South Wales will see splashes of rain over Christmas Eve
- Parts of the state ravaged by bushfires will only see a few milimetres of rain
- There will be no rain over South Australia, as fires rage near Adelaide Hills
Eastern Australia is expecting rain on Christmas Eve but the mega-fire on the outskirts of Sydney will stay mostly dry.
The rain will mostly fall in northern New South Wales and southern Queensland – with heavy downpours in Bundaberg and Rockhampton.
The area around Lismore is set to receive around 50mm. The mean average for the month of December there is 129mm.
Areas further south will also see some rain but there will only be 5mm in Bilpin and Gospers Mountain, west of Sydney, where a mega-fire is raging.
‘Bilpin will only get a couple of millimetres of rain,’ BOM meteorologist Scott Morris told Daily Mail Australia.
‘The most rain will be on the coast around Tammworth, Coffs Harbour and Port Macquarie, but the south-west of New South Wales won’t see much rain at all.’
Eastern Australia is bracing for up to 50mm of rain on Christmas Eve but the mega-fire on the outskirts of Sydney will not see much. Pictured: Map of Christmas day rain
Sydney will reach a top of 26C on Christmas Eve as bushfires rage west of the city (stock image of Bondi beach)
The Bureau of Meteorology predicted minimal rainfall around the country on Christmas Eve
Pictured: Firefighters battle a blaze in Grose Valley in the Blue Mountains
There are fears more homes could be lost after the Grose Valley fire in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney flared up to emergency levels for the second time within 24 hours on Sunday.
The increased fire activity in Govetts Leap Road at Blackheath prompted officials to warn locals to seek shelter.
The area may only see up to five milimetres of rain on Tuesday.
Winds across nearby Lithgow and the central tablelands area will reach up to 40km/h in the late afternoon with a high of 26C.
Warragamba, west of Sydney, is set to receive up to 5mm of rain, where the city’s main dam is located.
The dam is 45 per cent full as the drought continues.
The forecast comes as at least 100 buildings were destroyed across the state on Saturday alone, as the total of homes wrecked nears 1,000 for the season so far.
Mr Morris also confirmed there would be no rain over South Australia throughout the Christmas period, with highs of 34 on Christmas Eve.
Temperatures will soar over the next week with Adelaide hitting a top of 41C
Sydney will see some rain over the Christmas period bringing much-needed rain to the region (stock image of Pitt Street Mall in Sydney)
The Bureau of Meteorology previously said the conditions were unlikely to improve until at least February.
Temperatures in Western Australia will soar with temperatures of up to 36C.
Hobart will reach a high of 21C on Christmas Eve and Adelaide will reach 34C.
All cities will reach top temperatures on Saturday, with Adelaide reaching a maximum of 41C.
More than 60 fires were burning within containment lines as of Sunday in Queensland, but the state is set to receive lashings of rain with up to 50 milimetres predicted to fall in Bundaberg and Rockhampton on the mid-coast.
As of Monday morning, almost 200 bushfires continued to burn across the country.