A burst of winter-like weather will spread over southwestern Australia on Friday and Saturday, causing areas of heavy rain, thunderstorms and gale-force winds.

The satellite image below shows a large area of speckled cloud over the Indian Ocean to the west of Australia on Thursday morning. This cloud formation is a tell-tale sign that a cold air mass has ventured out of the Southern Ocean and into the midlatitudes, and this frigid air mass is now approaching Australia.

Image: Visible satellite image captured on Thursday morning.

A low pressure system and cold front will drag cold air, rain, thunderstorms and blustery winds across the west of WA from Friday, before spreading further east on Saturday into Sunday.

Accumulated rainfall totals of 10 to 40 mm are likely over a broad area of the South West Land Division between Friday and Sunday, with heavier falls expected along parts of the coast between Geraldton and Esperance. Some models suggest that there may be enough rain for localised flash flooding.

Image: Hourly forecast graph for Perth, WA on the Weatherzone app, showing an increase in rain and wind on Friday.

The image below shows how much rain is expected to fall over WA during the next seven days, with almost of this rain expected to fall between now and Monday.

Image: Forecast accumulated rain during the coming week.

Wind will pick up from Friday as the cold front approaches and moves over the state from the west, although stronger winds will develop on Friday night into Saturday as a low pressure system deepens to the south of the state. Areas that see thunderstorms on Friday night and Saturday will be at a heightened risk of damaging wind gusts.

Image: Forecast wind gusts on Saturday afternoon.

Severe weather warnings and severe thunderstorm warnings may be issued in some parts of WA as this system sweeps over the state on Friday and Saturday, so be sure to stay up to date with the latest warnings in your area.