Millions of Aussies have been urged to work from home and avoid unnecessary travel ahead of another week of destructive winds that is set to batter large swathes of the country.
A series of destructive cold fronts have slammed the nation’s southeast, including Tasmania, where thousands of homes lost power and some residents prepared to evacuate amid rising flood waters.
The wild weather that hit Victoria on Sunday night has led authorities to urge anyone who doesn’t need to travel today to stay at home.
Power outages are affecting more than 50,000 homes across Victoria, from Warrnambool in the southwest to Melbourne.
Several schools have also been closed, and parents are urged to check their school’s social media for updates on whether to send their children to school.
The Bureau of Meteorology said the massive cold front was tracking eastwards towards NSW.
‘It’s in the early hours of (Monday) that the winds about the east coast of NSW will really start to increase,’ senior meteorologist Sarah Scully said on Sunday.
A severe weather warning for damaging winds has been issued from the Victorian border north to Newcastle and inland to the Snowy Mountains and ACT.
Wind gusts up to 120 km/h are possible until Monday afternoon.
‘Winds of these strengths do have the potential to bring down both trees and branches that may cause property damage, also bring down power lines that could lead to power outages, and also loose objects may be blown around and cause further damage,’ Ms Scully said.
Tasmania was battered by severe weather at the weekend, with significant damage to trees, properties, power lines and infrastructure.
A flood emergency warning was issued for residents near the Derwent River, Meadowbank to Macquarie Plains and Styx River, Bushy Park to Macquarie Plains and surrounds.
The River Derwent below Meadowbank Dam was likely to exceed the major flood level of 7.3 metres overnight on Sunday and into Monday, the bureau said late on Sunday.
People in southeast Tasmanian towns on the Derwent – including Meadowbank, Glenora, Bushy Park, Gretna and Macquarie Plains – were urged to enact flood emergency plans and prepare their properties.
Provider TasNetworks said there were more than 150 outages late on Sunday with about 10,000 customers without power.
Tasmania SES crews are preparing for flooding. Picture: Tasmania SES
A cold front will sweep through parts of South Australia and Tasmania on Sunday night while Victoria will be hit by damaging wind gusts of up to 130km/h (pictured)
Sydney is tipped to reach a high of 25C on Monday while Melbourne will reach just tops of 14C on Monday before warming up to 20C by mid-week.
A top of of 33C is expected in Brisbane on Monday before temperatures drop back into the mid-20s, with Perth’s warmest day also appearing to be Monday with a top of 25C.
Adelaide is forecast to reach 25C on Wednesday and Thursday while Hobart is in for few cool days before warming up to 20C later in the week.
The Tasmanian capital will be hit by persistent isolated showers for much of the week.
Canberra is set to reach a high of 24C on Friday while in the Top End, Darwin is tipped to reach a scorching 36C on Wednesday.
The recent spate of wild weather has brought down trees and power lines and several backyard items were tossed away from homes in Victoria (pictured)
Roofs and other structures were torn apart (pictured) as a result of the destructive winds that has affected several parts of Australia over recent weeks
Sydney
Monday: Sunny. Very windy. Min 16C Max 25C
Tuesday: Sunny. Min 10C Max 18C
Wednesday: Mostly sunny. Min 10C Max 18C
Melbourne
Monday: Showers easing: Windy. Min 10C Max 14C
Tuesday: Partly cloudy. Min 8C Max 17C
Wednesday: Becoming windy. Partly cloudy. Min 9C Max 20C
Brisbane
Monday: Sunny. Windy. Min 19C Max 33C
Tuesday: Sunny. Min 16C Max 25C
Wednesday: Partly cloudy. Min 13C Max 23C
Perth
Monday: Sunny. Min 9C Max 25C
Tuesday: Shower or two. Min 12C Max 21C
Wednesday: Showers. Min 13C Max 20C
Adelaide
Monday: Possible early shower. Min 11C Max 17C
Tuesday: Sunny. Min 7C Max 20C
Wednesday: Possible shower developing. Min 12C Max 25C
Hobart
Monday: Showers easing. Windy. Min 6C Max 12C
Tuesday: Partly cloudy. Min 7C Max 15C
Wednesday: Shower or two. Min 7C Max 19C
Sydney is expected to be mostly sunny despite a windy start to the week on Monday, with tops of 29C forecast on Friday
Canberra
Monday: Windy. Partly cloudy. Min 9C Max 14C
Tuesday: Sunny. Min 1C Max 16C
Wednesday: Early frost. Mostly sunny. Min 0C Max 19C
Darwin
Monday: Sunny. Min 23C Max 35C
Tuesday: Sunny. Min 23C Max 35C
Wednesday: Sunny. Min 23C Max 36C
Hobart will be hit by persistent isolated showers for most of the week while scattered rainfall is also expected for Melbourne and Adelaide (pictured people holding an umbrella on a rainy day)
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