Thunderstorms forecast for peak hour - Sydney Morning Herald

Lightning may feature in today's storms. Photo: Claire Kelly

Sydney commuters looking for an excuse to end the working week early may have one, with potentially severe thunderstorms headed for the city this afternoon.

The storms will approach the city from the southwest and reach the central business district "probably close to peak hour" or sooner, said Ben Domensino, a senior meteorologist at Weatherzone.

"Thunderstorms are likely to develop in the afternoon and have a risk of becoming severe, with potential for large hailstones, damaging winds and brief heavy downpours," Mr Domensino said. Eastern suburbs, though, may be spared the worst of the storms.

"Certainly the conditions are there for (the storms) to be severe," said Peter Zmijewski, a senior meteorologist at the weather bureau. Late afternoon is the most likely period for such conditions to develop, he said.

The wild end to the week comes after temperatures in the city climbed above 30 degrees by late this morning. That's the highest since the mercury reached 45.8 degrees on January 18, a record for Sydney.

Today's storms may dissipate into scattered showers by 7pm or soon after, as they move north and west, Mr Domensino said.

Rainfall should be in the 5-10mm range, although some regions on or west of the ranges may see totals of 30mm or more.

For now, the Bureau of Meteorology's thunderstorm warning only applies to inland regions, such as Bathurst, Orange and Mudgee. These regions are likely to be hit with "destructive winds, large hailstones and heavy rainfall that may lead to flash flooding in the warning area over the next several hours", the bureau said in a posting just before 2pm.

Sydney may also see thunderstorms on Saturday with temperatures rising to 29 degrees. Sunday, though, looks to be perfect beach weather with temperatures also peaking at 29, with light winds and mostly clear skies, according to Weatherzone.

Wet start to Easter

Sydney should see the recent run of mild daytime temperatures continue well into next week.

Another trough, however, should bring a burst of showers and cooler conditions by Good Friday, Mr Domensino said.

That front looks likely to be strong enough to dislodge an unusually warm air mass over central Australia, and finally bring an end to the prolonged summer conditions over much of the country.

While Sydney has gone two months without a day of 30 degrees, Melbourne has had five days of 35 degrees or more in March alone, and may have a sixth one next Tuesday. The city would normally see just one such day in an average March.

Nationally, many heat records have been broken since November, including the hottest summer on record.

WA's Onslow Airport on Thursday broke one of the more obscure ones, with its reading of 45.6 degrees setting a new late-season heat record. Roebourne Airport, also in the Pilbara, broke that record on Wednesday and was already 37.6 degrees shortly after 9am, local time, on Friday, according to the weather bureau's website.

Weatherzone is owned by Fairfax Media, publisher of this website.