Victorians sweltering through their first heatwave of the summer have been warned of possible “catastrophic” bushfires when a dramatic cool change hits on Tuesday, as much of Australia experienced a hot start to the week.
Temperatures soared over 30C in five of the nations’s state/territory capitals on Monday, including Adelaide, Perth, Melbourne, Canberra and Darwin.
In South Australia, the highest temperature recorded was in Port Augusta, where the mercury hit 42.6C while Adelaide reached 38C about 2.30pm ACDT. The state’s cool change is expected to arrive in the early hours of Tuesday morning, bringing temperatures down to 27C on Tuesday.
In Victoria, the north-west towns of Hopetoun and Walpeup reached 41C while Mildura hit 40C. The city of Melbourne soared to 35C on Monday and is expected to reach 36C on Tuesday, after temperatures climbed past 33C on Sunday.
Senior meteorologist Dean Narramore of the Bureau of Meteorology said it was Melbourne’s first heatwave after a “slow” start to the summer.
“We’re definitely into that typical Melbourne summer pattern now,” he said.
Narramore said no Melbourne summer was complete without a “hell of a cool change”, which is forecast for Tuesday afternoon before a high of just 19C on Wednesday.
“We’ll have a hot, sunny morning, the winds will pick up late morning and the clouds will roll in at lunchtime,” he said.
“Then we’ll see some showers and storms and a huge drop in temperature by 10 to 15 degrees. By the nighttime, most people will probably feel a little cold.
“It’s classic four seasons in one day.”
In regional Victoria, communities have been put on high alert ahead of the cool change. A total fire ban has been declared in the Wimmera, Central, Mallee, South West, Northern Country and North Central districts for Tuesday.
A “catastrophic” fire danger rating was issued for Wimmera and “extreme” for the Central, Mallee and Northern Country districts.
Country Fire Authority chief officer Jason Heffernan said Tuesday’s conditions represented the worst fire-risk day Victoria had experienced since the 2019-20 fire season.
He said conditions would be hot, with temperatures in the regions reaching about 40C and accompanied by northerly winds around 40-50km/h, before an intense south-westerly change delivered wind speeds between 60 and 80km/h.
Heffernan said the safest option for people currently in bushfire risk areas within the Wimmera region was to start planning to leave on Monday night or early on Tuesday.
“Do not plan to defend your home on catastrophic fire danger days – the safest place to be is away from high-risk areas such as campsites, parks and forests,” he said.
“Catastrophic conditions make it difficult for firefighters to control fires should one start.
“Be prepared for fire, monitor conditions and know where to get information so you can make good decisions about your safety.”
An extreme fire danger rating is also forecast in South Australia in the Mid North, Riverland and Murraylands regions.
In Western Australia, Perth hit 35C on Monday after a very hot weekend, with temperatures in the 40s. The heat was expected to stick around until at least Thursday, as northern and eastern parts of the state continue to experience heatwave conditions.
Tasmania is not quite as hot as southern parts of the mainland but still experiencing warm conditions, reaching 27C on Monday and 29C on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the east coast is experiencing fairly seasonal heat. Sydney reached a top of 29C on Monday and is expected to hit 31C on Tuesday, with showers forecast for Wednesday likely to stick around through to the weekend.
Brisbane was forecast to reach the low 30s throughout this week, with the chance of showers. Canberra had a maximum forecast of 30C for Monday and 32C for Tuesday, before dropping back to the mid and high 20s later in the week.
Darwin reached 31C at 3.30pm on Monday, with the BoM forecasting a very high chance of rain.
