Latest Easter long weekend weather: Burst of warmth before heavy rain… but not just yet - here's what it will be like near you

The intense rain that soaked much of Queensland and the Northern Territory over the last week will move south but capital cities will avoid a wet Easter long weekend. 

The rain will form a band through the red centre of the country on Saturday and move east but rain isn't likely to strike Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne until Tuesday.

Adelaide and Perth will also avoid the rain, though Darwin will likely be wet. 

'Most of the country will have a near perfect weekend, the only people who might need a brolly are in the NT,' Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Dean Narramore said.  

'For the rest it will be a warm and sunny weekend.'

New South Wales 

The western part of the state might see some showers in the early part of the Easter long weekend while rain could hit the coast by Tuesday or Wednesday next week. 

Good Friday will be a pleasant and fine 25C in Sydney with the rest of the weekend including Monday to follow suit reaching highs of 27C and 28C.

Queensland

While not in the band of heavy rain that will form over the centre of the country, the Queensland coast could get some lighter showers.

Brisbane will reach highs of 27C and 28C with scattered showers likely during the weekend.

Victoria

Melbourne will see a cooler Easter weekend with tops in the mid-20s.

The rain band should hit eastern Victoria by Monday and Melbourne by Tuesday bring rainfall totals of up to 30mm.

South Australia

SA is in for a fine and sunny start to the weekend further south around Adelaide with the rain band only reaching the northern half of the state.

There could be heavy cloud and showers by Monday, however, dropping the temperature from a high of around 30C down to 24C.

Tasmania

Hobart will see a windy weekend with south-easterlies up to 20km/h sweeping across from the ocean.

It will be cloudy with highs in the low 20s but most of the state - barring the northeast - will avoid the rain.

Northern Territory

The one state in for a wet Easter is the NT with Darwin experiencing humid days with temperatures in the low 30s and showers followed by possible afternoon storms each day.

The southern half of the NT will see heavy rain early on in the weekend with a risk of flash flooding.

Western Australia

WA will be dry across almost the entire state for the long weekend.

Perth will have warm temperatures hovering at highs around 28C but cloud cover should provide UV protection.

Weatherzone's Ashleigh Lange said the reason for the rain band is two-fold. 

During the week ending on Wednesday, March 27, Rabbit Flat in the NT recorded 277 mm, contributing to its wettest March on record.

The moisture from ex-Tropical Cyclone Megan and a low-pressure trough combined to cause an extremely wet week with large rainfall totals across the Territory.

The tropical moisture should link up with a cold front that will sweep across southeastern Australia in the back end of the Easter long weekend, dragging the rainband eastward into western and central Vic on Monday.

In the NT, remote communities are calling on the government to do better after a severe weather event tore through northeast NT on March 17, bringing heavy wind and rain and cutting off townships.

An evacuation of the remote community of Borroloola on March 18 was called off after Australian Defence Force planes could not land as the eye of the cyclone neared.

Northern Land Council chair Matthew Ryan said the government response was inadequate and put residents in danger.

'Imagine being out there stranded, surrounded by rising water, not getting any clear direction, and seeing planes circle but then just leave,' Mr Ryan said in a statement.

'The federal and NT governments' emergency response support has been appalling ... lessons are not being learned and as a result our communities continue to suffer.'

The land council said staff met with federal government officials on March 12, warning them of the ongoing telecommunications issues and black holes accompanying severe weather events in remote areas.

The issues were noted, though when Cyclone Megan hit the week after, the council says communication was poor.

Several official emergency notices posted to Facebook diverted people seeking information to as many as eight different numbers or websites, the council said.