A stream of tropical moisture will produce rain and thunderstorms across central and southeastern Australia during the next four days.

The interaction of moisture-laden air travelling southwards from the tropics and a surge of cooler, drier air surging north will lead to widespread rain and thunderstorms between now and Thursday.

The impending rain and storm episode could bring the best falls in several months to parts of NSW, SA, northern Victoria, southern Queensland and the Red Centre.

While this system will affect a large area of Australia, some of the heavier falls during the next four days will come from thunderstorms, so totals will be hit or miss. These type of late-spring storm events typically bring decent rain to some areas, while others largely miss out.

An abundance of moisture in the atmosphere means heavy rain and flash flooding is likely to occur, particularly with storms.

While this week's rain will temporarily ease the pressure in drought-affected parts of NSW and surrounding states, it won't be enough to erase the long-term rainfall deficits that have built in this region.

On Monday, a severe weather warning was issued for heavy rainfall in parts of central and eastern Victoria. Other warnings are likely to follow in the coming days.

Drier air will return to central and southeastern Australia towards the end of the week, leading to a spell of more settled weather that looks like it will last well into next week.

Visit http://www.weatherzone.com.au/warnings.jsp for the latest warnings.