Severe thunderstorm risk for northern and eastern Australia including Sydney, Brisbane and Canberra

Much of northern and eastern Australia faces a risk of severe thunderstorms on Saturday afternoon and evening, with millions of people potentially in the firing line. “It’s another severe thunderstorm outbreak for eastern parts of the country. It could be an active one,” said Angus Hines, senior meteorologist at the Bureau of Meteorology on Saturday. The warning comes after storms swept over south-east Queensland on Friday, with the ABC reporting that more than 11,000 homes lost power after late afternoon and evening storms. About 2,000 Energex customers in the region were still without power on Saturday morning. Related: Weekend of wet weather forecast across Australia, with storms headed to the eastern states Hines said the storm risk was “extensive” and stretched from the tropical north and Western Australia to the central and eastern parts of the country, including Sydney, Brisbane, Canberra and eastern Victoria. Sign up: AU Breaking News email Driving the storms, Hines said, were high levels of moisture in the atmosphere, dragged down from the tropics, interacting with pressure differences in the air that created upwards motion. This primed the atmosphere for storms, he said. The storms would bring the risk of strong winds, heavy rainfall, and could down trees and powerlines. “It’s not unusual for the north of the country [to see storms at this time of year] but across the east coast, millions of Australians could see disruption today,” Hines said. He said residents should keep an eye out for thunderstorm warnings covering specific areas that would probably be issued on Saturday afternoon. In addition, the risk of bushfires was considered extreme for Saturday in the western slopes and plains of New South Wales where hot and windy conditions and lightning strikes could cause bushfires. Total fire bans are in place in the northern Riverina and lower central west plains areas. The fire risk is expected to ease on Sunday and Monday but would remain high across much of the state, according to the NSW Rural Fire Service. Stormy conditions are expected to ease across southern areas of the country on Sunday, but far northern NSW and south-east Queensland remained a risk for Sunday storms. “South-east Queensland is a spot that could be in the firing line again on Sunday, and it will be a day of mostly cloud and wind across Queensland and far-northern NSW with a background risk of storm,” said Hines. The bureau is also monitoring a low pressure system in the Timor Sea, north of the Kimberley off north-west Western Australia. The system had a moderate chance of moving towards the NT and becoming a tropical cyclone by Thursday and Friday next week.