Christmas Eve weather: Severe thunderstorms forecast for parts of Australia – what conditions look like in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne

New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria could face severe thunderstorms on Christmas Eve and residents will be asked to prepare for the possibility of hail, flash flooding and heavy rain.

Major storm concerns remain across “the vast majority of New South Wales” and Queensland, stretching from Mackay to the state’s southeast.

Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Angus Hines said the activity was forecast to peak on Sunday afternoon.

“The particular area where we are likely to see severe storms is around southeast Queensland, including the Brisbane region and northeastern New South Wales,” he said.

“We could see some of those storms become really big, very intense, and could cause damage, such as destructive wind gusts, heavy or locally heavy rain, and large or even giant hail, as we saw yesterday.”

On Sunday morning, the BOM issued a severe thunderstorm warning for parts of central Queensland, with the potential for damaging winds, heavy rain and large hail.

This follows a series of severe storms on Saturday, with high temperatures fueling weather activity.

The current warning is for areas of the southern Darling Downs and Granite Belt district; However, the weather authority said the activity will likely move eastward in the coming hours.

In New South Wales, severe showers and thunderstorms will occur mainly in the central and eastern hinterland, with lighter storms forecast near the coast and far west.

Up to 30mm of rain is forecast for Sydney on Sunday, with the chance of showers easing into the evening.

Melbourne’s Carols by Candlelight is also facing a possible landslide, with a high chance of showers and a possible forecast for thunderstorms in the late afternoon and evening. The outdoor event will begin at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl from 8pm, with organizers insisting the show will go ahead rain, hail or shine.

The Bureau warned that a low pressure system developing on the New South Wales-Victoria border will drag the risk of a storm “across much of Victoria” on Christmas Eve, causing wet weather as the day progresses .

“The rains, of course, by their nature, tend to be a bit irregular, a bit unpredictable, so there is still a chance that we will hear the carols in the dry, but there is a risk of city-wide rain in Melbourne to that time of day.’ Mr Hines said. While the eastern states could face a wet Christmas, multiple severe heatwave warnings remain in place for Western Australia.

The Bureau has issued a warning for the Pilbara, Gascoyne, Inland North and Inland South districts, where temperatures could reach up to 45C.

The alert is currently in effect until Boxing Day.