Perth exceeded its Christmas Day forecast of 40C as a heatwave created extreme fire danger for much of south-west Western Australia.
Residents at Boddington goldmine were being warned it was too late to leave on Thursday afternoon as fire affected evacuation routes. Residents of Cowalla were also warned to leave immediately as fires posed a threat to homes at Bidaminna Place and Millbank Road.
The rest of the country experienced the full range of weather over the Christmas period, with Melbourne on track to record its coldest Christmas since 2006.
The Sydney to Hobart yacht race was forecast to be cold, wet and bumpy but without a repeat of last year’s fatal conditions.
A race briefing from the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) on Wednesday predicted the 129 starters in this year’s Sydney to Hobart will face strong southerly winds of up to 25 knots after leaving the Sydney Heads on Boxing Day.
“It’s going to be cold, wet and bumpy, people will get seasick,’’ the chair of the race committee, Lee Goddard, said.
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BoM senior meteorologist Miriam Bradbury said on Thursday that winds would slacken across the New South Wales and Tasmanian coasts on Saturday and Sunday. “It will still be fresh at times but gradually we’ll see them easing back along the east coast,” she said.
The upwind conditions mean a tight finish but that the race record is unlikely to be broken this year. They are a far cry from the challenging downwind conditions that saw two lives lost in the first night of racing in storms in 2024.
Wednesday’s briefing began with a minute’s silence for the sailors who died aboard separate yachts last year, Nick Smith and Roy Quaden.
Race organisers the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia also announced a group of 15 yachts will scatter rose petals off the coast of Bondi beach in memory of the 15 lives lost during the Bondi terror attack, when they pass the site.
Line honours favourite Master Lock Comanche is co-captained by two eastern suburbs residents who were shocked when they heard news of the attack on Sydney’s Jewish community two Sundays ago.
“Everyone was very worried,” said co-captain Matt Allen. “We went down with a large group of Jewish and non-Jewish Olympians last Friday and had a service there, and then a brunch to really show our support for the victims, the entire community.”
In the west, Tropical Cyclone Grant had was moving away from the Cocos Islands, 2,750km north-west of Perth, on Thursday. Heavy rain, storms and strong winds were easing as the category 1 cyclone moved westwards.
Perth reached 41.9C on Thursday afternoon with an extreme fire danger warning in place for much of south-west Western Australia for Christmas.
At Boddington goldmine in the Peel region, south-west of Perth, the WA Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) was advising residents it was too late to late.
“You are in danger and need to act immediately to survive. There is a threat to lives and homes.”
A wider watch and act warning was in place in the surrounding area.
Bradbury said the heat would begin to ease on Friday. “Today is the last day of the intense heat for now for the west coast,” she said.
A flood watch was in place for much of northern Australia on Thursday across WA, the Northern Territory and Queensland. Brisbane was facing a hot, dry start, with showers and possible storms and a high of 33C. Darwin had forecast rainfall of up to 50mm with thunderstorms and showers likely.
On Thursday afternoon, Melbourne was on track to have its coldest Christmas since 2006, with a high of 17C. There was snowfall in elevated parts of Tasmania, with the BoM saying rain showers were falling as snow as low as 700 metres above sea level on Christmas morning.
