Tens of thousands of homes could be left without power for a week after Cyclone Kirrily tore a path of devastation through northern Queensland.
The cyclone wreaked havoc on the state after it was downgraded from category three to category two on Thursday evening.
It thrashed Ingham and Townsville, leaving more than 115,000 residents without power.
While electricity has been restored for a number of homes, Queensland Police said there were still 48,500 homes and businesses in the dark.
Police warned multiple traffic lights are also out of action due to the severe storm damage, including at main intersections.
“Motorists are urged to stay off the roads this weekend, as repair work to restore traffic lights continues,” Queensland Police said in a statement.
“The public is encouraged to stay informed and up to date with the latest emergency information via their local council disaster dashboard.”
Energy providers have warned it may take up to seven days to restore the power.
The Ergon Energy response teams will be headed by Chris Hooper, who said crews were still assessing the damage and will likely provide a detailed restoration plan in the next 48 hours.
“I’d say days, out to about seven days at this point in time,’ Mr Hooper told the Townsville Bulletin when asked to estimate a timeline for power restoration.
“There’s a lot of leafage, a lot of vegetation over powerlines.
“We will expect prolonged outages in some rural areas outside of the (Townsville) CBD.”
Meanwhile, in the south of the state an oppressive humidity will persist over Brisbane with the sweaty maximum temperature expected to be 36 degrees.
The Bureau of Meteorology said the UV will be as high as 15, with unprotected skin burning within minutes in such conditions.
Sydney
After sweating through a sizzling Australia Day, Sydney has a reprieve from the sun with a mostly cloudy weekend and clearing showers.
The mercury will peak at 26 degrees, more than ten degrees cooler than January 26.
Despite the cooler change moving through, however, the UV will still reach 13 – creating an extreme risk of harm from sun exposure.
Sunday will bring more of the same for Sydney, with partly cloudy conditions and clearing showers.
Darwin
Darwin can expect a rainy and wet weekend typical of the wet season.
Possible storms, heavy showers, and high temperatures are all forecast to lash the north on January 27 and 28.
Temperatures are forecast to exceed 31 degrees on both Saturday and Sunday, but there will be no reprieve in the nights as overnight lows are expected to remain 26 degrees.
Further south on the border, a severe heatwave warning has been issued for the Simpson District.
There is also a flood watch in place on Sunday for Barkly, Central Desert Region, Georgina and Eyre Creek areas.
Melbourne
Melbourne is set for a mild but mostly sunny weekend, with temperatures on the climb over the coming days.
Saturday will peak at 23 degrees with slim chances of rain, with the same conditions expected to prevail on Sunday.
Canberra
Warm and mostly sunny conditions are expected in Canberra over the weekend, with balmy 27 degree and 28 degree days expected.
Very low chances of rain have been forecast and clouds are expected to clear in the afternoon.
Adelaide
Sunny but cooler temperatures are expected in Adelaide on January 27, but will warm up for a toastier January 28.
The mercury will peak at a moderate 23 degrees today but will rise to 28 degrees tomorrow, with both days not expected to experience any rain.
UV index will also soar to 13, meaning sun protection is essential all weekend.
Perth
A rain-free weekend is also expected for Perth, with sunny skies forecast for both Saturday and Sunday.
A top of 33 degrees has been forecast for Saturday and a high of 29 degrees on Sunday, with relatively cool nights also expected.