It is the most hotly anticipated forecast of the year — the Christmas break weekend prediction for capital cities.

While there are mild forecasts for Sydney and Brisbane, residents in Victoria and South Australia are expected to experience a scorcher weekend with temperatures hitting 40 degrees Celsius in some areas.

Check out the forecast breakdown below to see what is happening in your state.

Australian Capital Territory

The country's capital city is in for a partly cloudy Christmas break.

Temperatures are expected to be quite warm over the weekend and into early next week, reaching 32C on Christmas day.

New South Wales

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Sydneysiders should expect a pleasant next few days, as temperatures hover near the high 20s.

"Sydney and Brisbane in particular will be somewhat mild because of the effect of the sea breeze," said the Bureau of Meteorology's (BOM) senior forecaster at the national operations centre, Craig Burke.

There is a slight chance of showers in the evening on Christmas Eve and on Christmas morning, with warmer conditions expected on Boxing Day.

Northern Territory

The NT may be in for a wet weekend, with a high chance of showers and storms expected in the Gregory, Tanami and Lasseter Districts.

Temperatures are also likely to remain in the high 20s/low 30s.

Darwin is in for a possible shower or storm over the weekend and into next week.

Queensland

Queensland is tipped to be the "most pleasant" state to be in on Christmas Day.

The BOM is predicting a slight to medium chance of showers and storms in the central and southern parts of the state, particularly the Gulf of Carpentaria coast.

"Anywhere from east coast of Queensland end to east coast of New South Wales will be particularly pleasant," Mr Burke said.

Brisbane can expect a partly cloudy weekend with highs below 30 degrees, and showers possible on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

South Australia

Fire authorities will be on high alert in South Australia as it prepares for its hottest Christmas Day since 1945.

Adelaide's first summer heatwave is expected to begin on Friday, with temperatures soaring to the high 30s on Saturday.

The BOM's SA state director, John Nairne, said the hot spell would be followed by rain from two tropical storms, with the forecast slightly cooler than expected on Boxing Day.

The state's Emergency Services Minister, Peter Malinauskas, said it was important that residents — especially elderly ones — prepared for the scorching weather.

"We want to make sure that all South Australians keep up to date with what is going on with total fire bans within their particular district," he said.

"Now that is really easy to do via the Alert SA website or the CFS website."

Tasmania

It will be a mostly sunny Christmas break in parts of Tasmania.

Temperatures in Launceston will reach a maximum of 31C on December 25, with showers and lower temperatures expected early next week.

Hobart will be slightly cooler, with a maximum of 29C on Christmas and cooler temperatures through to next week.

Victoria

The inland areas of Victoria are expected to experience heatwave condition over the next few days, with some parts in the north of the state heading for a top of more than 40 degrees Celsius.

Melbourne will face a "scorcher" Christmas, with a top of 35C, followed by three more days of warmer weather.

BOM's Chris Godfrey said despite a forecast change in conditions, the hot weather would continue throughout next week.

"It's certainly going to be an uncomfortable night as we move into Boxing Day with temperatures across the majority of the state not really dropping below the mid-twenties," he said.

"However it does look like we are going to get a shallow trough that will move across the state during Monday, so that means that for Monday and Tuesday, at least in southern Victoria, the maximum temperatures will scale back somewhat to around the high 20s or 30s."

Western Australia

Perth residents are in for a warmer Christmas, with temperatures hovering around 30C for the long weekend.

Saturday and Sunday are expected to hit 33C with southerly winds predicted in the evenings.

Boxing Day will see a high of 29C with easterly winds shifting to south-westerly in the morning.

Tropical Cyclone Yvette, which is currently 700 kilometres north-west of Karratha, is expected to hit coastal areas on Christmas Day or Boxing Day.

BOM's duty forecaster Shane Hick said it was expected to intensify to a category two cyclone by Friday morning.

"There's still quite a bit of uncertainty with the path of this system at this stage but our best guess at this moment is that it should cross the coast somewhere between Port Hedland and Broome," he said.