Hot, dry and windy weather is expected to sweep across south-eastern Australia in coming days, causing extreme fire danger in three states.

Hot air has been building up over the country and will spread towards the south-east, most notably felt in South Australia, NSW and Victoria.

Weatherzone warned to expect a burst of heat, wind and elevated fire danger ratings.

The Bureau of Meteorology issued heatwave warnings on Thursday for Victoria, Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

Extreme conditions sparked several bushfires in Tasmania on a day of wild winds, prompting emergency evacuation warnings.

A bushfire triggered an evacuation order for Glenlusk, north-west of Hobart, with warnings it could put lives in danger and destroy homes.

An uncontrolled bushfire about 3pm Thursday was travelling towards the area bordered by Brinkmans, Faulkners and Molesworth roads at Glenlusk.

“There is expected to be thick smoke, and showers of embers which may cause fires all around you,” TasAlert said.

Glenlusk is home to about 200 people, with the fire close to properties after sparking in vegetation.

The fire service has been unable to use helicopters near Glenlusk due to high wind speeds, which have reached gusts as high as 85km/h in Hobart.

“Conditions are pretty unfavourable for firefighting due to the strong winds and warm temperatures,” regional fire commander Simon Pilkington told the ABC.

Crews were protecting assets in the area, he said, ahead of the weather calming later on Thursday.

An emergency warning was issued for an out-of-control bushfire at the small rural settlement of Levendale, about 50 kilometres north of Hobart.

“There is expected to be thick smoke, and showers of embers which may cause fires all around you,” the fire service said.

“Spot fires may threaten your home before the main fire arrives. Conditions are expected to be changeable.”

There were several other lesser bushfire warnings issued on Thursday, including at Dolphin Sands on the state’s east coast, which lost homes in a 2023 blaze.

Victoria

Temperatures were expected to hit as high as 38 degrees in Mildura on Thursday with a surge of hot north-westerly winds, while Melbourne could swelter at 34 degrees.

Extreme fire danger ratings are likely to develop in parts of the Mallee, Wimmera and Northern Country districts, with total fire bans declared for all three districts.

“Milder south-westerly winds will spread through southern Victoria from Thursday afternoon into Friday, although northern Victoria will remain hot on Friday before cooling over the weekend,” Weatherzone said.

“Extreme fire danger is expected to linger in parts of the Mallee and northern country districts on Friday.”

NSW

Hot air will spread over NSW from Friday into the weekend, causing a spike in temperatures and fire danger ratings.

Sydney’s daily maximum temperatures are forecast to reach 30 degrees on Thursday, 35 degrees on Friday and 36 degrees on Saturday.

The city’s western suburbs will be several degrees warmer, likely reaching about 40-41 degrees on Friday and Saturday. Temperatures will also reach the low to mid-40s in western NSW on Friday and Saturday.

“Extreme fire danger ratings are likely to develop in parts of southern NSW on Friday and central, eastern and northern NSW on Saturday,” Weatherzone said.

“Saturday’s extreme fire danger is likely to affect parts of the Greater Sydney, Greater Hunter and Illawarra/Shoalhaven districts.”

South Australia

Blustery north to north-westerly winds were forecast to send temps in  Adelaide to 34 degrees on Thursday.

Further north, temperatures were likely to exceed 40 degrees in the state’s pastoral districts, Weatherzone said.

“The combination of heat, blustery winds and low relative humidity will cause Extreme fire danger ratings over central and eastern part of SA on Thursday.”

Intense heat will linger in the north of SA until Saturday but Adelaide may only reach 22 degrees on Saturday while other regions in the northern pastoral areas soar to the high 40s.