But of more immediate concern, a series of summer storms is sweeping in to south-east Queensland and could reach much of NSW on Friday afternoon.

The Bureau of Meteorology issued a severe weather warning for Brisbane of thunderstorms, damaging winds and hailstones.

The coastal strip from the Sunshine Coast to Gold Coast could be affected during the afternoon.

A vast swathe of NSW is also on thunderstorm watch. Storms are possible today in an area stretching from the Illawarra and Sydney north to the Queensland border and west as far as Dubbo, Goulburn and Moree. As of Friday lunchtime a severe weather warning has not yet been issued.

Next week could be sweaty in NSW. The temperature is expected to rise throughout the next week, getting to 26C in Sydney on Sunday in the CBD and then 32C on Thursday.

In the city’s western suburbs it will be even hotter. A high of 31C on the weekend in Penrith could get to 40C by Thursday.

Bureau forecaster Rob Taggart told the Daily Telegraph “hot conditions are coming in a big way” next week.

“The current forecast of 40C for the west will be the first 40C day we’ve had coming into summer,” he said.

A stormy few days in Brisbane will see maximum temperatures in the 30Cs. It will then dip back into the 28C range on Tuesday before sneaking to 30C late next week.

A partly cloudy Melbourne will be in the mid-20s this weekend, rising to 31C on Tuesday and 32C on Thursday.

Hobart will see a high of 24C on Saturday and then 26C on Wednesday with some showers.

Adelaide will get increasingly warmer. A high of 24C will shoot up to a sunny 29C on Sunday and then 36C on Wednesday.

Perth’s best weekend day will be Sunday with 36C dropping back to 26C as the week progresses. In the Top End it will be 36C and stormy.