The Bureau of Meteorology has warned people to check their forecasts as “really intense heat conditions” are expected to break temperature records in some places in central Australia, bringing strong winds, storms and hail to the country’s southeast on Sunday.
“We’re heading for a pretty active week, as we’ll call it,” senior meteorologist Miriam Bradbury said. “There are a number of weather systems moving across southern Australia.”
The warning comes as Australia recorded its highest August temperatures on record, with much of central and eastern Australia recording temperatures between 5 and 15 degrees Celsius above average.
Temperatures at Oodnadatta in northern South Australia reached 38.5 degrees Celsius on Thursday, making it the hottest recorded August day since 1946. Temperatures are forecast to reach 40 degrees Celsius at Fitzroy Crossing in Western Australia, 35 degrees Celsius in Alice Springs and 38 degrees Celsius in Birdsville, Queensland, over the weekend.
“Unfortunately, we are predicting very hot conditions across central and northern Australia, which will continue into next week,” Bradbury said.
East coast capital cities are expected to be up to 8C hotter than the August average on Sunday, with temperatures reaching 23C in Melbourne and 26C in Sydney. The BOM is forecasting temperatures above 30C for several days in Brisbane from Monday.
“August is the time when we typically start to see the weather get a little warmer as we get closer to spring. But the duration of this warmth, and how intense it is, is unusual for this time of year,” Bradbury said.
“I think most of us really like the first wave of warm, mild weather after winter, it gives us a bit more energy, it gives us a bit more hope. But it’s important to keep in mind where this fits into the bigger picture… it’s very early in the season to be getting temperatures this high, and it’s actually breaking records in some areas.”
After the newsletter promotion
Bradbury said it was difficult to make a “conclusive comment” on the effect of global warming on climate events such as the “unseasonal blast” of heat currently sweeping across much of the country, particularly while data for the winter of 2024 was still being collected. But he added, “It is worth noting that August is shaping up to be one of the warmest on record.”
From Sunday, widespread rain and storms were forecast across most of Victoria, south-east South Australia and southern New South Wales, with strong winds, severe storms and large amounts of hail predicted for parts of northern Victoria and southern NSW.
“It’s the wind risk that we’re watching most closely at the moment,” she said.
“We’ll see these strong winds continue for most of this week. So really, just a reminder to everybody, keep an eye on your forecast. Keep an eye on any warnings that may be coming.”
