Australia weather: east coast forecast to swelter through autumn heatwave

Maximum temperatures are forecast to exceed 35C in parts of New South Wales, Queensland, and Victoria, with the Pilbara region in Western Australia also due for a scorcher.

And while the temperature in central Sydney is expected to max out at 31C over the weekend, the mercury will rise to as high as 40C in western Sydney areas like Penrith. Liverpool is forecast to reach and 36C on Sunday.

If Penrith reaches 40C, it will be only the second time on record where there have been two 40C days in the Sydney Basin during March.

Maximum temperatures above 40C will also hit parts of the Pilbara region in Western Australia as well as in central South Australia and inland NSW.

Towns such as Bourke and Marla are expecting four days in a row of temperatures above 40C, with relief expected from Monday.

Temperatures in Brisbane could hit the mid-thirties on Friday and stay in the low-thirties over Saturday and Sunday.

And with the AFL season now under way in Melbourne, temperatures are expected to be in the mid-thirties on Saturday. This would be the hottest day this late in autumn for 10 years.

The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a Fire Weather Warning for the Southern and Central Ranges in NSW and the Mortlock area in Western Australia, as well as a severe heatwave warning for south-east Queensland over the weekend.

Olenka Duma, a senior meteorologist at the BoM said there was an elevated risk of fire in NSW over the weekend, with fire danger expected to peak on Sunday.

Duma said there was potential that the fire risk may stretch out with periods of high heat continuing into winter.

She said the warmer temperatures were making their way across to the east from central areas of Australia.