Wild weather to bake or drench Christmas celebrations-National summary
Heatwaves and thunderstorms are threatening to dampen the Christmas spirit for some as the nation’s religious leaders offer a message of hope.Extreme weather is set to plague both the east and west coasts on Christmas Day.
West Australians are expected to swelter through their holiday lunches, with temperatures forecast to reach the high 30s-low 40s for a large part of the state.
The mercury is tipped to reach the low 40s in parts of WA while Brisbane can expect a top of 34C.
The heat wave stretches from Karratha, in the Pilbara region, down to areas south of Perth.
The hot conditions, combined with dry, gusty thunderstorms, have fuelled fire risk and extreme fire danger is forecast for the midwest coast to the capes.
“Fairly concerning conditions for our firefighters,” Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Miriam Bradbury told ABC TV on Thursday.
Fire Weather Warning
Thursday 25 December
Extreme Fire Danger is forecast:#MidwestCoast #MidwestInland #Lesueur #YarraYarra #Mortlock #SwanInlandNorth #SwanCoastalNorth #SwanInlandSouth #Brockman #Geographe #Blackwood #Capes #SouthernForests #Arthurhttps:— Bureau of Meteorology, Western Australia (@BOM_WA)
December 24, 2025
On the other side of the country, rain is set to batter Queensland and the Northern Territory, while further south residents will shiver through their celebrations.
Severe thunderstorms have been forecast for parts of Queensland’s Wide Bay area near Monto, while regions in the state’s northwest and the adjacent territory have been warned to watch for flooding as a monsoon trough lingers.
Tropical Cyclone Grant is set to pass by the Cocos (Keeling) Islands – a remote Australian territory about 2700km northwest of Perth – bringing rain and the risk of damaging wind gusts.
Residents on the Cocos (Keeling) Islands are bracing for the impacts of a passing tropical cyclone. (Bianca De Marchi/AAP PHOTOS)
Maximum temperatures are expected to reach just 15C in Hobart, while Melbourne has a forecast high of 17C – which would be the city’s coldest Christmas in nearly two decades.
The mercury is predicted to hit the low-mid 20s in Sydney and Adelaide, while Brisbane will be warmer at 34C.
The usually joyous time of year has already been marred by the massacre of 15 people when gunmen targeted a Jewish celebration at Australia’s most iconic beach.
But Catholic Archbishop of Sydney Anthony Fisher said light would shine through the darkness following the anti-Semitic terrorist attack at Bondi Beach.
Two Islamic State-inspired gunmen killed 15 people on December 14, which marked the start of Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of light.
