Sydney has recorded its hottest July beating the previous mark set in 2018, according to a senior meteorologist.
By mid-afternoon on Monday, each of the eastern state capital cities had topped their forecasts by a degree or more. Sydney’s 23.5C was enough to have elevated July’s average maximum above the previous record of 19.89C set in 2018, Ben Domensino, a senior Weatherzone meteorologist said. Data at Observatory Hill goes back to 1858.
The Bureau of Meteorology was contacted for comment.
Most of Australia is continuing to experience unseasonably warm weather this week including the record heat for Sydney. At the same time, Tasmania faces record destructive wind gusts.
Four of Australia’s eight major cities were forecast to climb to at least 20C on Monday, including Sydney (22C), Brisbane (27C), Perth (20C) and Darwin (33C) after temperatures hovered about 8C above normal for July over the weekend in some parts of inland eastern Australia.
Bureau senior meteorologist Angus Hines said the warm conditions would persist into the week and remain above average until at least Wednesday.
“It will cool off a few degrees, we’re shaving [the] very top off but the vast majority of Australia is tracking for a warm few days,” Hines said.
“Almost the entire country was above average for maximum Monday temperatures by between two and six degrees, and on the weekend, all of Australia was sitting above a degree or two.”
Parts of New South Wales and Victoria set records for the highest recorded temperature in July over the weekend, including Forbes airport (22.6C), Condobolin (24C), Mount Nowa Nowa (24.8C), Cooranbong and Norah Head.
On Tuesday, central and eastern Australia were tracking for temperatures marginally above average while Western Australia was still forecast to be “really, really warm”, up to 8C above average into Wednesday.
The far western coastline was expected to cool on Wednesday as a cold front moved across the state, gradually spreading out across southern states later in the week.
Hines said periods of warmer weather in winter weren’t unusual in isolated areas, but what was uncommon was the geographical reach.
“It’s almost the whole country,” he said. “You’re going to have warm stretches across one area, but seeing such an extensive breadth of warm weather is fairly unusual.”
Sydney hit 25.2C on Sunday afternoon, with even higher temperatures in the western suburbs as Penrith and Bankstown reached 26C by 2.30pm. The following seven days were expected to reach at least 20C.
Melbourne reached 18C on Saturday and Sunday, while in Brisbane, the temperature peaked at 25.7C, after a 25.4C day on Saturday – its warmest so far this month.
The unusual warm winter weather comes as wildfires and heatwaves lash Europe. Global temperatures shattered records this month, with July on track to be the hottest month ever recorded, according to the World Meteorological Organization.
Hines said it was not the case that the “heat [had] drifted south of the equator”, but there were contributing elements, including warm ocean conditions.
Much higher than usual average surface ocean temperatures were being recorded around the world and were contributing to current local conditions, with particularly warm water off the Queensland coast.
Meanwhile, Tasmania was bearing the brunt of increasingly strong wind, with destructive wind warnings active for the bulk of the state on Monday as a series of cold fronts moved across.
Wind gusts reached 178km/h on Monday morning, matching the strongest wind ever recorded in Tasmania in July, Domensino said.
This intense low and front caused wind gusts of up to 178 km/h at Maatsuyker Island early this morning. This is Tasmania's equal strongest July wind gust on record, and the type of wind you would see near the eye of a category 3 tropical cyclone.
— Ben Domensino (@Ben_Domensino) July 31, 2023
Story: https://t.co/GuykJrb8hg pic.twitter.com/Edw5vH2ZpJ
The final “vigorous” front was forecast for Monday afternoon and evening, bringing gale- to storm-force north-west to westerly winds.
Hines warned the wild weather combined with spring tides would cause sea levels to rise well above high tide, which could inundate low-lying coastal areas in the state’s south.
Strong to damaging winds of up to 65km/h, with peak gusts in excess of 100km/h were expected to continue across Tasmania with local destructive winds of about 125km/h possible over western and southern parts of the state.
Hines said it had been “remarkably windy” overnight, with eight sites recording wind gusts in excess of 120km/h, including 178km/h at Maatsuyker Island and a record 143km/h at Strahan airport early Monday morning.
He predicted another surge from Monday afternoon: “It’s eased off a bit since early morning but we’re not out of the woods yet. It will be rough out there.”
The State Emergency Service urged the community to beware of damaged trees and power lines, secure their outdoor belongings and brace for power outages.
The winds were expected to ease early on Tuesday.
