Wild weather forecast for almost half of Australia with severe thunderstorms and possible flash flooding

Wild weather is on the way for almost half the country as severe thunderstorms are forecast to cause property damage and possible flash flooding.

The Bureau of Meteorology's Miriam Bradbury said "damaging winds, large hail and heavy rainfall" were expected to strike large parts of Australia – particularly the west and south-east.

"The severe thunderstorm risk extends across almost half of the Australian continent," the senior meteorologist said on Wednesday afternoon.

"Storms, whether they're severe or not, may still bring down trees or branches across roads or on power lines, potentially leading to some power outages.

"Winds and hail might also bring some minor property damage to your property or car. We might also see heavy falls produce flash flooding in some parts with water over roads, leading to dangerous driving conditions."

Thunderstorms were likely across the south-east, inland South Australia , inland New South Wales and south-east Queensland on Wednesday afternoon, including Adelaide and Melbourne, the BoM said.

"Particularly dangerous" thunderstorms with "destructive winds" in excess of 125 km/h were possible on Wednesday, particularly across parts of NSW and south-east Queensland .

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In the west, severe storms were projected across southern inland parts of Western Australia, with damaging wind gusts expected later on Wednesday.

Bradbury said the wild conditions were being caused by a cold front pushing across the west coast.

"In the east ... skies look fairly clear, but that's only because ... storms in the south-east are less likely to produce much rain today," she said.

Bradbury said the front will move through WA on Wednesday and push into South Australia. By Thursday, the front will bring strong winds and shower storms into central Australia, she said. That system is expected to push into the south-east on Friday.

The system is then forecast to move offshore during the weekend, leading to "much more settled" conditions across South Australia.

Strong winds were elevating fire danger across inland parts of WA, with fire weather warnings in place for some districts. The risk would move into South Australia on Thursday.

Bradbury said damaging, strong winds would flare up across the south-east on Friday, before the system moves away and takes the stronger winds with it.

"Storms remain widespread [on Thursday] as this system moves through with severe storms likely across many of those southern and eastern parts of the country.

"Damaging winds and large hail are ... our biggest risks, but heavy falls are still possible."