Lengthy heat finally turning to rain - but only for some

If you have seen the satellite lately you will have noticed a huge area of cloud and rain moving across the Kimberley and interior of Western Australia.

It’s the classic ‘leftovers’ after a cyclone, the big ball of rain that moves to other parts of the country, depending on the whims of the weather pattern at the time.

For those in southeastern Australia where ‘hot and dry’ is the word of not just the day, but week, and sometimes month, this big ball of rain would be incredibly handy.

Firstly, it would flush out all the heat. Secondly, it would freshen everything up, helping ease bushfires and reducing the risk of new ones.

The current whims of the weather pattern aren’t going to be kind to the southeast.

That beautiful cloudband with all its juicy rain is heading nearly straight southwards. Across southeastern Western Australia, then out to sea. The pattern curves it slightly eastwards, but not enough to even be picked up by Tasmania.

Instead, the lengthy heatwave continues.

It began on the Saturday of the long weekend, and unless you’re near the coast, there isn’t any reprieve for a while.

This heatwave hasn’t come with ferocious winds, but its length and peaks in heat are the talking points. New records for not just individual long running weather stations, but also new state records for maximum temperature.

When does it end? For much of inland southeastern Australia: this weekend.

Instead of a wishy-washy trough, cradled by high pressure nearby, the pattern should place the high southwest of Perth. This location is important, as it makes room for a bigger weather system to cross the southeast - there is nothing ‘blocking’ its progress, so it can have a bigger impact.

The main impact is likely to be a change in temperature. Flushing out the heat through inland parts and not just the coast. Well, at least up to northern NSW.

There will also be rain.

Not for western NSW, western Victoria or anywhere in South Australia - this rain, yet again, falls to the east. The injection of moisture comes from the Pacific Ocean, and a bit from all the rain continuing to fall in northern Queensland. By the time the low pressure meets up with the moisture, it is all too far east to be much use for those western locations.

So, the heatwave continues, but it does have an end in sight. And our focus may shift to an area of dramatic rain (rain, storms and potential flooding) mainly over eastern parts of Victoria, NSW and Queensland.