But further north, extra warmth is on the cards with sustained heat being driven to the east coast by desert winds.

It’s toasty in the Red Centre with Alice Springs recording eight days of maximum temperatures higher than 35C this month — last year only one day in October was that stifling.

Four capitals could reach more than 30C this week and inland expect a blistering 40C.

Over the weekend a rain band dumped almost 30mm on Brisbane’s CBD, leading to a soggy start to Saturday. Parts of the Gold Coast received even more than that late on Friday and into Saturday.

Gosford, on the New South Wales Central Coast, registered some 25mm of rain on Friday night, and in Sydney more than 10mm fell on a mostly grey and chilly weekend. But much of the heaviest downpours remained in the Tasman Sea, only licking the shoreline.

This week, Victoria and Tasmania could be in line for the country’s wettest weather, said Sky News Weather channel meteorologist Alison Osborne.

“Victoria will see showers and the possibility of some storms,” she said on Monday.

“On Tuesday and Wednesday, there’s the potential for heavier falls as a pulse of rain pushes across the state and into Tasmania as well.

“By the end of Thursday, the majority of rain will have fallen but (by then) over 25mm could have fallen in the southeast of Victoria”.

Scattered showers are forecast in Melbourne earlier in the week, but heavier downpours of up to 10mm on both Wednesday and Thursday are possible. Temperatures will reach 23C today before dropping back to just 15C on Thursday with early morning lows in the single digits. Head east and it will get wetter with more than 20mm of rain expected in Gippsland.

Rain is possible most days in Hobart this week. The daily totals will likely be modest but more than 20mm could fall in total. It will reach a warm 23C today and, like Melbourne, the highs will drop to 15C by Thursday. Mornings will be cold with a low of just 5C on Wednesday.

Adelaide will reach a mild 20C today and tomorrow and 17C on Thursday. The dry conditions will end on Tuesday with a high possibility of showers, which could be heavy on Thursday.

Away from the southeast corner, it’s much warmer. A sunny week in Perth will start with 21C today. The temperature will rise to 23C on Wednesday and then 31C on Friday and Saturday.

In Darwin, it could reach a sweltering 35C this week with overnight minimums of 23C.

Ms Osborne said temperatures were on the way up in Queensland.

“A dry air mass is being driven by westerly winds and that warm air is continuing its passage towards the east,” she said.

“It’s becoming a little bit less severe but still temperatures may be above 30C (on the coast).”

For Brisbane, that means 26C today rising to as much as 32C on Thursday when a storm could barrel through the city.

Ipswich, in the city’s west, will likely experience six consecutive days with the mercury higher than 30C, including a blistering 35C on Thursday and Sunday.

In the state’s west, 35C will seem mild. Cloncurry won’t dip below 38C this week and will reach 41C on Wednesday.

Recent rains should mitigate the likelihood of out-of-control bushfires.

Sydney can expect a week in the mid-20s with highs of 25C on Tuesday and 26C on Thursday. It will be mostly sunny with just the odd splash of rain. In the western suburbs, the highs will get to 30C on Tuesday in a sunny Penrith.

Canberra will reach a high of 27C on Tuesday but by Thursday it will be far milder, peaking at 17C. Rain is possible midweek with overnight lows of 6C, dipping to just 1C early on Sunday.