Rain

A cloudband extending 4,000 kilometres from the Top End to Tasmania will produce intense downpours during the last days of spring – threatening to bring areas of flash and river flooding to multiple states and territories, with other capital cities in the firing line.

Experts say riverbank infestations of fire ants are exploding south of Brisbane, and there's a risk the venomous pests could spread further through flooding.

Residents says the storm lasted less than 15 minutes, but the clean-up from the damage is expected to take days.

A flash storm in the Pilbara town of Tom Price uproots trees, damages fences and forces businesses and schools into lockdown.

Locally heavy falls have already resulted in flash flooding across parts of Brisbane, the Scenic Rim and Western Downs.

Australia is being urged to heed the lessons of Spain's devastating floods and make sure that warning systems and emergency response capabilities are up to tackling disasters that are becoming more frequent and more intense.

A police officer smashed a window to rescue a woman trapped in a car in floodwaters in Brisbane after almost 100 millimetres fell within three hours in parts of south-east Queensland. 

A string of scorchers ended in a spectacular lightning display in south-east Queensland last night.

The race to the White House this year between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris is a classic case where the atmosphere could be the decisive factor, with a band of heavy rain and thunderstorms forming from Texas to Canada, which is predicted to bring a swathe of severe weather during the next 48 hours over multiple states.

South East Queensland braces for bad weather after parts of the Sunshine Coast are smashed with giant hail and homes are left without power.

The Spanish prime minister is urging residents to stay home as the country's weather bureau issues fresh weather alerts.

According to a handful of new research, the number of low-pressure systems around Australia is decreasing, bringing predictions of a future, dryer climate.

Forecasters warn Trami could make a U-turn next week as it is pushed back by high-pressure winds in the South China Sea.

The Bureau of Meteorology says a possible tornado could have caused the extensive power outage in far west New South Wales as SA's Energy Minister confirms mining operations at Olympic Dam will be down for up to a week following storms in SA's north.

A spell of wild weather is on the cards for everywhere from Queensland to Tasmania, with thunderstorms forecast to sweep across Australia's east over the next 48 hours.

The weather bureau expects temperatures will reach well above average this week and severe storms are also forecast in parts of the state. It is expected to reach 8C above average in Brisbane on Saturday.

Australia is facing one of the hottest summers on record according to the Bureau of Meteorology's weather modelling which tips well above average temperatures across the country.

Fed up with the threat of floods, Victorian resident Tuesday Browell is thought to be the first private Australian resident to import war-zone technology to protect her home.

The first major outbreak of spring thunderstorms is firing up this week across parts of Queensland and New South Wales, bringing with them threats of the destructive supercell storm.

Thousands have been left without power, rivers are rising and SES crews scrambled to answer hundreds calls for help as heavy rain and gale force winds battered communities.