Winds, flooding and a heatwave to hit Australia just days after chilly winter temperatures – what’s it like near you?

Australia is in for a weekend of wildly contrasting weather, depending where you are, with winds, flooding and a heatwave just days after an icy blast hit the country.

Intense winds battering the south-east of the country are set to continue through the weekend, prompting pleas to stay alert to falling trees and power lines and avoid flood waters. 

Severe weather warnings for damaging winds have been issued for south-eastern NSW, parts of the ACT, across Victoria, the southern coast of South Australia and most of Tasmania. 

But in Queensland, a winter heatwave could tip the state to break several temperature records, with a chance the south-west could reach a high of 40C.

Brisbane is tipped to experience sunny skies and a high of 35C across the weekend after the Bureau of Meteorology reported maximum temperatures across the country – including Queensland – have soared between 5 and 16C above the August average.

Bureau of Meteorology meteorologist Pieter Claassen said Friday and Saturday temperatures could break records, particularly south of Townsville to the south-east.

Brisbane may also ‘get close really to breaking their own August records’.

Birdsville is set to hit a high of 40C, which has the potential to break the August temperature record, which was last week set at 38.4C.

Intense winds battering the south-east of the country are set to continue through the weekend, prompting pleas to stay alert to falling trees and power lines and avoid flood waters. Women sharing an umbrella are seen walking in the rain along Hosier Lane in Melbourne

Ipswich, Boulia, Beerburrum, Dalby, Mt Isa and Longreach could also hit record highs, with the hot weather likely to continue into next week.

The heatwave comes as vulnerable Victorians who rely on electrical life support equipment were warned by electricity provider Powercor to have backup plans in place as more destructive winds are set to hit the country over the weekend.

The electricity group, which operates through western Victoria, urged its vulnerable customers to be ‘ready’ with plans in place in case of blackouts.

‘Know what you would do if the power does go out – charge your phones, laptops and other devices, know how to open your garage door manually, and know where to turn for information,’ Powercor’s head of network control Peter Galey urged on Friday.

‘Make sure you are ready to enact your backup plan if you rely on life support equipment or need electrical items to care for others and have water available if your supply relies on power.’

Two main power lines in Victoria’s Apollo Bay were extensively damaged on Wednesday, with power restored to customers on Thursday.

Generators have now been sent into the town as a precaution, as well as two field crew members

A winter heatwave could tip Queensland (pictured) to break several temperature records

High winds have been bringing down trees (pictured) across much of south-eastern Australia 

Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Jonathan How said Australia’s east coast is in for a ‘windy weekend’ as three powerful cold fronts move in.

Destructive winds will mean high fire danger warnings will remain in place over the weekend across the Greater Sydney Region and Illawarra/Shoalhaven in NSW.

Winds will intensify for much of south-east South Australia, western Victoria and western Tasmania.

‘Then into Saturday, we see those strong to damaging winds extending for the rest of Tasmania, Victoria and south-east NSW, with a second cold front coming through that will reinvigorate those winds across southern areas, with plenty of showers and rain behind that,’ Mr How said.

However the strongest cold front is expected to hit on Sunday.

‘That will bring widespread damaging to destructive winds across multiple states, as well as heavy bursts of rainfall, thunderstorms, hail and snow down to low levels,’ he said.

‘We do have damaging wind warnings covering four states and lots of these areas have already seen damaging winds right through the week. 

The south-east of Australia is in for a ‘windy weekend’ as three powerful cold fronts move in

‘This could cause further damage to trees and property, so I’m reminding people to keep an eye on the latest warnings heading into this weekend.’

A coastal hazard warning has been issued for the south-west coast of Victoria down to Wilsons Promontory as waves could reach up to nine metres offshore.

‘(There will be) abnormally high tide for parts of Gippsland, we start to see those waves really picking up with this cold front coming through … waves increasing up to five to six to seven metres offshore,’ Mr How said.

‘But then with that stronger cold front coming through on Sunday, that’s when we start to see the waves increasing up to nine metres offshore of south-west Victoria and also western parts of Tasmania, so these hazardous coastal conditions are likely to continue all the way into Monday.’