Hail, flash floods and dust storms: Just 7 photos of Australia's extreme weather over the weekend.

The bushfire disaster has had a stranglehold on Australia for months now. With 12 million hectares of land burnt through in five months; and lives, homes and more than a billion animals lost in the flames.

All we wanted was rain.

We begged Mother Nature for rain.

This fire footage was from New Year’s Eve. Post continues after video.

Last week and over the weekend she delivered, and it helped.

In fact, dozens of bushfires were extinguished in New South Wales by downpours.

Before the rain, there were 120 burning, now according to Fires Near Me, there’s 83.

But what was once a bushfire disaster, has quickly morphed into a water disaster with extraordinary weather events of all shapes and sizes witnessed across the country this weekend.

Here are just 7 photos that show how scary the effects of climate change are in 2020.

1. Huge hail in Victoria.

In Melbourne, there was hail the size of golf balls.

“This is the worst hail storm I’ve ever seen in my life,” said model Megan Gale on Instagram stories, while watching the hail fall on her backyard.

2. Inland dust storms.

In Dubbo, Parkes and Nyngan there were dust storms bigger than locals had ever seen.

"Is Australia imploding? We have always had dust storms, but I can't remember them being this big or this frequent," wrote Emm on Instagram.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Is Australia imploding? We have always had dust storms, but I can’t ever remember them being this big or this frequent. I miss Canada ????

A post shared by emmbends (@emmbends) on Jan 19, 2020 at 1:53am PST

3. Gold Coast floods.

Sharks roamed Gold Coast streets over the weekend, which were left flooded by torrential downpours.

As much as 299mm was recorded in some parts.

And now the sharks are out in the rivers...burleigh waters #thegoldcoast #GoldCoast #shark #thefloods #Australia pic.twitter.com/7xYJOtR2Dg

— Peter Pan Wine Guy???????? (@peterpanwine) January 18, 2020

4. Fire emergencies in Victoria.

On Victoria's French Island, fire continues to burn.

An emergency warning was in place across the weekend, as flames threatened homes.

It's now been downgraded but the fire, one of 29 still in Victoria, is still 85 hectares in size.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

More fire

A post shared by Clarke (@jimi_chopper) on Jan 17, 2020 at 11:52pm PST

5. Rain miracles in Sydney.

Instead of the familiar bushfire smoke haze, Sydney experienced flooding in the CBD, Eastern Suburbs, Southern Sydney, the Inner West and Northern Beaches.

It was enough to fill Busbys Pond in Centennial Parklands.

The birds ???????? are loving this wet weather! These photos were taken earlier today and last week at Busbys Pond. #sydneyrain pic.twitter.com/bw0holaOcZ

— Centennial Parklands (@CentParklands) January 17, 2020

6. Regeneration in bushfire ravaged areas.

The effects of rain were felt on the Gospers Mountain fireground, as new life was spotted sprouting from the ashes.

7. Central Coast koalas.

On the NSW Central Coast, the Australian Reptile Park experienced flash flooding, with koalas experiencing the opposite to what they'd been wiped out by just days before.

An estimated 8000 koalas have died in recent months.

Feature Image: Instagram @emmbends/ Instagram @megangale/ Twitter @peterpanwine.

What was the weather like where you are? Let us know in the comments below.