After sweating through temperatures of more than 40 degrees, Victoria can expect a deluge of rainfall this weekend bringing welcome relief for areas hit by bushfires.
Parts of the state’s north and north-east could receive more than double their average rainfall for the month in one hit, with the potential of falls of up to 100 millimetres.
A tropical low pressure system, which is sweeping across the country from Western Australia, should hit Victoria and meet a cold front later in the week, delivering heavy falls.
Temperatures are also set to fall, with the weekend maximum temperatures set to hover in the high teens and low 20s.
Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Andrea Peace said Victoria’s north was expected to receive the heaviest rainfall, while southern parts looked set to receive about 50 millimetres.
“It’s quite a contrast between the end of this week to last week when we had temperatures well into the 40s across the state,” Ms Peace said.
She said there was not all good news, because the heavy rain could cause flash flooding in some areas.
“You can go from one extreme to the other, which isn’t always a good thing,” Ms Peace said.
However, she said the wet weather would likely be short-lived, with the state partially under a warm El Nino weather effect.
January was typically the driest month of the year, with Melbourne receiving an average of 47 millimetres in the month, she said.
This story first appeared in The Age
