The warm weather is about to end in Victoria, with the state set to be hit by a deluge of rain, hail and snow from today and temperatures set to hang around the low teens all weekend.

The sinkhole, measuring 12 metres wide and five metres deep, developed in a broken pipe for stormwater access, the SES says. It came as Melbourne was hit by heavy rainfall ahead of three more days of wintry weather.

Players from NRL club Melbourne Storm wait outside their headquarters as they return to training.

Looking to replace the second oldest radar on its network at Mildura airport, the BOM marks a spot at Cullulleraine.

Sex, politics, and religion are traditionally avoided as dinner conversation, but in Queensland there's the emergence of 'rain guilt' — where you got some but your neighbours missed out.

Fish have been found on the streets of Yowah, in outback Queensland, after record rainfall.

The magpie and the kookaburra are two of Australia's favourite birds and, although they're not endangered yet, concerns for their wellbeing and survival are beginning to grow.

After years of drought, drenching rain in March gives farmers in Queensland's south-west a reprieve from paddocks of dust and destocking.

Bob the Railway Dog, an icon of Peterborough in South Australia's mid-north, is again being celebrated with a book detailing some of his many adventures.

Heavy rain has fallen over parts of South Australia, providing desperately-needed relief for some of the state's farmers but unfortunately some areas have missed out.

The Bureau of Meteorology's latest forecasts suggest wind gusts about 100 kilometres per hour at Sydney Airport by 6:00am on Tuesday will not ease until mid afternoon.

MORNING BRIEFING: Police release an image of a man they are seeking after a young woman was allegedly knocked to the ground during an attempted robbery, while a new health campaign recommends introducing nuts to babies before they turn one.

beach training

There are calls for better police training in mental health after a man was shot dead following a nine-hour stand-off at his home on the NSW Mid North coast.

Dozens of children with disabilities are being pulled out of West Australian schools by parents who say they are not getting enough support in the classroom.

A strong cold front is expected to bring damaging wind gusts, heavy rain, thunderstorms and possible flash flooding to south-west WA, with up to 40 millimetres of rainfall set to be dumped on Perth.

For inmates in a maximum security prison in WA, socialising unwanted dogs is "like a day away" from jail and the effects of the program are being described as "win-win".

Researchers are scouring the planet for drought and heat resistant crops as many Australian grain farmers face another failed winter season.

The school holidays are about to get ugly with the Bureau of Meteorology forecasting thunderstorms and some wild weather for Friday, the second last day of the Perth Royal Show.

A severe weather warning for Tasmania's east coast is cancelled but heavy rain continues to fall in the region, with snow in the highlands.

DAILY BRIEFING: The wait for public housing in Tasmania blows out by 34 per cent for those most in need, and passengers on a tourist train get a fright after an apparent failure of the braking system.

DAILY BRIEFING: Scientists offer the public the chance to name a rare red handfish, and there are calls for councillors to receive training on responding to bullying.

The flooding of Lake Pedder started the green political movement but remains an open wound. A nostalgic campaign to drain it is ramping up, but flies in the face of Hydro Tasmania's bold plans to grow its renewable energy assets.

When Molly Sandford's construction worker ex-husband was told to have a "cup of cement" and "harden up" it was the last thing he needed. After losing him to suicide, she's determined to help others in the sector get the support they need.

A 77-year-old man dies on a rural property on the west coast of South Australia after falling into a grain bin. SafeWork SA will investigate.

Grain handling group Viterra announces it will transition from rail to road transport for movement of all grain on the Eyre Peninsula.

The proud railway identity of Cummins is to become history as the farming community prepares to tackle 50 extra trucks on its roads each day.

Australia will import foreign-grown grain for the first time since 2007, after the Department of Agriculture approved a permit to import bulk wheat from Canada.

The lawyer for the family of Yorta Yorta woman Tanya Day tells a public inquest into her death it was police "neglect" that led to her suffering catastrophic brain injuries alone in a cell.

A frustrated trainer, a battered boxer and angry family members while retirement is unlikely, there are huge cracks in Jeff Horn's camp after his loss to Michael Zerafa, writes Corbin Middlemas.

From sky-high water costs to prohibitively expensive livestock feed, new forecasts show how drought will impact Australia's exports and agricultural production.

While many dairy farmers in northern Victoria are downsizing and selling up due to drought and the cost of water, in South Gippsland they are investing in their businesses.

Researchers at the University of Minnesota have developed a unique 3D-printed transparent skull implant for mice as a way to view real-time activity on the brain surface.

Sometimes the world can feel out of control so it's nice to think that the one thing we do have control of is what goes on inside our own heads. But, what if this wasn't as true as we'd like to believe?

Ukrainian-born Iryna Dvoskina and husband Yuriy Vdovychenko are the coaching duo behind a handful of Australia's most incredible para-athletes.

An rain gauge that uploads real-time climate data to the internet from remote locations could save farmers time, money and help them keep better records.

It's been 30 years since the Daintree rainforest was World Heritage-listed, signalling the end of one industry and the birth of another.

The SES is urging northern Queensland residents to be ready as a tropical low starts to bring heavy rain to coastal communities north from Rockhampton.