South-east Australia's weekend heat: What to expect — and when the mercury will drop

Here's what's forecast for the next few days.

Sydney has 32C temperatures forecast for Saturday, and 36C for Sunday. Source: AAP / Dan Himbrechts

A cool change will follow a brief heatwave across parts of south-east Australia this weekend with the mercury set to push towards 40C in Victoria, NSW, and South Australia.

Here’s the outlook for the next few days:

Victoria:

The mercury is due to peak at 36C in Melbourne on Saturday afternoon according to the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM). Showers will clear away the heat on Sunday and Monday’s temperatures could dive as low as 17C, making it the coldest day of the year so far.

Mildura, near the NSW border, is heading for 41C on Saturday before falling back to just 22C by Monday.

NSW

Sydney is set for a 32C day on Saturday, with the mercury expected to reach 36C on Sunday.

Temperatures in Sydney are expected to drop by Monday to 24C before picking up again slightly as the week progresses.

The BoM has issued severe heatwave warnings for Batemans Bay, Eden and Nowra on the NSW south coast with temperatures around 36C expected.

The BoM has issued a severe heatwave warning for parts of the NSW coast.

South Australia

Across the south-east this weekend the most dramatic changes in temperatures are forecast to be felt in the South Australian capital where Saturday’s forecast 39C in Adelaide will give way to a cooler 22C on Monday.

ACT

Canberra will peak at 35C on Saturday afternoon but will experience chilly nights with lows dropping into single figures, according to the BoM. Monday’s high is expected to be 22C before getting warmer again later in the week.

Tasmania

There’s a cloudy and showery outlook for Hobart with 25C predicted on Saturday before the temperature drops to 17C on Monday.