One of Australia’s hottest summers on record continues to produce above-average temperatures, with the Queensland tourist town Birdsville hitting 49.4C on Thursday, just 0.1C shy of the state’s all time record.
Heatwave conditions hit regions across Australia on Thursday and will continue on the public holiday before cooling off over the weekend.
Bureau of Meteorology warnings are in place for NSW, Queensland, WA, SA and the Northern Territory, while extreme heatwaves could impact parts of far south-west Queensland.
The BOM is forecasting maximum and minimum temperatures to be around 6C to 12C above-average in large parts of central and eastern Australia.
“Widespread temperatures above 40C are expected across inland and eastern parts of Australia over the next few days, with some inland areas as hot as 49C,” a spokesperson said.
Birdsville’s 49.4°C this afternoon was Queensland’s highest temperature since 1972 and only 0.1°C off the state’s all-time record. pic.twitter.com/wHfWg3NzJ9
— Ben Domensino (@Ben_Domensino) January 25, 2024
Sydney was forecast to reach 35C on Thursday, but fell just shy at 32.1C. The bureau has has lifted its forecast for Sydney from 35C to 38C for Friday, with a few places in the city’s west and south-west looking set to reach 40C.
Temperatures in the mid-to-high 30s swept parts of the NSW coast on Thursday, with Newcastle peaking at 39.2C.
Inland areas of Southern Australia’s north, south-west Queensland and north-west NSW sweltered in temperatures in the mid-to-high 40s on Thursday and are forecast to do so again on Friday.
Roxby Downs, about 500km north of Adelaide, hit 45.7C on Thursday, while further inland the outback town of Coober Pedy hit 41.4.
Birdsville, in Queensland, hit maximum temperatures of 47.2C and 47.9C on Tuesday and Wednesday before clocking 49.4C on Thursday. The town holds the hottest temperature recorded in Queensland after it hit 49.5C – just 0.1C above Thursday’s temperature – in 1972.
Meanwhile, far north Queensland is facing heavy rainfall which could lead to flash flooding with Tropical Cyclone Kirrily, now a category three system, expected to land north of Townsville later this evening.
The bureau is expecting isolated total rainfall of about 300mm in the next 24 hours and potential very destructive winds of up to 224 km/h.
Cooler air developing in the south of Western Australia on Wednesday is set to gradually spread across the southern states on Thursday and Friday, ending the heatwave for many.
The forecast change will bring cooler weather for almost all areas on the weekend.
