Areas suffering drought and bushfires in southeastern Australia are expected to get a soaking of rain from a tropical low pressure system in northern WA.
The relatively rare interaction of the low, centred over the Kimberley, and a low pressure trough running southeast across the continent will channel tropical moisture south.
This will cause cloud and rain to develop in central and southeastern Australia from Thursday.
"No doubt that is going to have a pretty significant impact in southeastern Australia in the coming days," BOM national operations centre senior forecaster Craig Burke told AAP.
"We are going to see a broad area of rain across SA, Victoria and Tasmania.
Between 10mm and 30mm of rain is expected to fall across the southeast of the country on Thursday, Mr Burke said.
Forecasts are less certain beyond Friday.
"Certainly the humidity has increased and we are seeing a build-up of that weather across SA," he said.
"The good news is that there will be some relief in terms of rainfall and I guess a lot of communities will be grateful to get that rainfall after what's been a pretty dry few months."
Flood warnings are in force for central Australian river systems and in the Kimberley and interior of WA, which may get up to 400mm.
"It's a very unique weather pattern that's unfolding in terms of this tropical system interacting with a weather system down south," Mr Burke said.
"It doesn't happen that often."
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