The day that brings Australians together should be typical enough - with citizens sweltering in a heatwave on one coast and staving off floods on another.
Australia Day will surely bring on the usual patriotic fervour at beaches, barbecues and bottle shops but official events will suffer from the whims of the weather.
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In Queensland, Premier Anna Bligh said the Australia Day Festival planned for Brisbane - including fireworks, AusSounds Concert, Multi-Faith Ceremony and Flag Raising Ceremony - had been cancelled because of the weather.
"Unfortunately, Mother Nature is not going to let up on us, and in this instance we must put safety first," she said.
Wild storms lashing southeast Queensland have left two women missing, schools closed and residents evacuated from one suburb.
In NSW celebrations will begin in stirring fashion, with 3000 people becoming Aussie citizens in 95 ceremonies across the state.
For lifeguards, however, the day is the busiest of the year. NSW lifesavers have already performing thousands of rescues since Christmas Day and five people have drowned.
Victorians can expect sunshine for the Great Australia Day swim from Middle Brighton Pier, an aerobatic show by the Royal Australian Air Force and a fireworks display in Melbourne's skies.
But Ambulance Victoria paramedic Bryan Russo says emergency workers are bracing for a long shift dealing with intoxicated patients.
He was not surprised by the release of a 10-year study that found Australia's national day was the worst of the year for assaults and drunkenness among people under 25 in Victoria.
"As an Australian citizen, I was shocked," he told reporters.
"However, as a paramedic, it really doesn't surprise me."
South Australia, which is baking in high-30s temperatures, has the cricket at Adelaide Oval where Michael Clarke and Ricky Ponting have set Australia up for a massive first-innings total in the fourth Test against India.
Celebrations are likely to continue afterwards at a free family concert at nearby Elder Park with singers Rickie-Lee and Stan Walker.
In Western Australia, Perth is gearing up for an Australia Day party fearing the country's biggest fireworks show on the Swan River foreshore.
But there are fears that forecast temperatures of 41 degrees Celsius could force organisers to rethink their plans due to fire risk.
Australia Day plans in Darwin are in doubt as heavy rain and winds buffet the city.
The northern city's annual Australia Day "ute run", in which enthusiasts decorate their utes and drive them to a greyhound track, has been cancelled because the track has flooded.
A planned Australian rules football match in the Tiwi Islands will also be put off.
Cricket matches are an Australia Day tradition on Tasmania's far-flung Macquarie Island, halfway between Australia and Antarctica.
This year's match is under threat from expected 30-40 knot winds but a haggis-throwing competition in honour of Governor Lachlan Macquarie, who gave the island its name, is planned.
Hobart's Sandy Bay Regatta, held since 1849, will again be the hub of activity in the Tasmanian capital, with citizenship and awards ceremonies also taking place.
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