Rain, isolated storms for Easter weekend

Rain and cool to mild conditions are forecast for parts of Australia over the Easter long weekend, with showers and isolated thunderstorms along the east and west coast.

"We're looking at cool to mild conditions over the south of the country," senior Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Craig Burke told AAP on Thursday.

A cold front will bring showers to Tasmania on Saturday, as well as Victoria's southern and mountain regions.

Showers are also expected in the southern parts of NSW on Friday, but this is expected to contract to the coast on Saturday.

Rain will continue along the NSW coast on Sunday, and increase on Monday as a trough deepens offshore.

In Australia's west, showers and storms are expected to hit the coast between Perth and Geraldton, with the wet weather moving inland on Saturday and Sunday before it clears up on Monday.

In the country's north, the monsoon trough responsible for the region's wet weather has retreated to Papua New Guinea.

This means there will be less cloud and above average temperatures in the Northern Territory.

But there is also a potential for showers and storms in the Top End.

Queensland will have a wet Easter, with showers and isolated thunderstorms along the Cape York Peninsula as well as central Queensland all the way down to the northeast corner of NSW.

The cooler conditions will provide some relief for NSW and Victoria following an uncharacteristic warm spell earlier in March.

"We have seen much cooler conditions circulate across inland parts of southern Australia," Mr Burke siad.

"So the fire danger ratings have really reduced."

There is a severe thunderstorm warning in place for the Gascoyne region in Western Australia this weekend, as well as flood warnings for Queensland's Diamantina, Georgina and Gulf rivers.