Wet and windy start to May as storms sweep nation's south

Friday, 1 May 2026 14:06

It follows a stint of unseasonably warm weather.

Rain, gusty winds and thunderstorms are set to roll across southern Australia to end the week, ending the recent run of warm, dry weather.

A low-pressure system is driving the change, sending a cold front and trough from west to east starting today.

Showers, thunderstorms, and strong winds are forecast to sweep across southern Australia as the front advances.

Southern Western Australia is expected to experience these conditions from today, with South Australia following tomorrow.

Victoria, Tasmania, New South Wales, and the Australian Capital Territory are set for wet weather over the weekend.

Rain will spread across a wide stretch of the south, although totals will vary. Some areas could pick up 10 to 20mm, with isolated falls above 40mm possible, particularly where thunderstorms develop.

Winds are set to pick up ahead of the front, with strengthening northerlies giving way to cooler west to south-westerly winds as it passes through.

Damaging gusts are possible in parts of South Australia and western Victoria on Saturday, extending to elevated areas of eastern Victoria and south-east New South Wales on Sunday.

Temperatures are expected to ease by around 5 to 10 degrees across much of the south as the system moves through.

Adelaide is forecast to drop back to about 19 degrees on Sunday and Monday after reaching the high 20s earlier in the week.

Meanwhile, Melbourne is expected to ease from about 26 degrees on Friday to 22 degrees by Sunday, while Hobart will fall from the mid-20s to around 19 by Monday.

Canberra is also set to cool, slipping from the low 20s over the weekend to about 17 degrees by Tuesday.

NEVER MISS A STORY: Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.