Australias southeast to cop another burst of extreme heat and fire danger

A brief but intense burst of heat is set to affect southeastern Australia over the next few days, with temperatures soaring into the low-to-mid 40s in many areas with records set to be challenged inland.

A very hot airmass has been lying over inland areas for more than week, with records being smashed in some areas. For example, Alice Springs broke its previous December record on three consecutive days to end the month, reaching a peak of 45.6 degrees on the 29th (previous record 44.2 degrees).

Areas near the coast have luckily only felt the heat on a couple of days, due to weak cold fronts and seabreezes moderating temperatures. However, a cold front will increase northerly winds over the next few days, dragging this heat to the coast.

The hot airmass will focus over South Australia on Thursday, with Adelaide set to soar to 41 degrees. However, further north temperatures will be even more extreme, with Coober Pedy forecast to reach 46 degrees and Oodnadatta 47 degrees.

On Friday, eastern and northern SA, Victoria and Southern New South Wales will feel the brunt of the heat, with Melbourne forecast to reach 42 degrees. Ballarat (41 degrees), Horsham (45 degrees), Mildura (46 degrees) and Broken Hill (45 degrees) are all predicted to get within 1 degree of their January records.

On Saturday, large parts of NSW will reach into the high 30s and early 40s, including parts of Sydney, the Hunter and most areas west of the ranges. With the hot and dry conditions, fire dangers will spike with potentially dangerous fire conditions on Friday across Victoria and NSW on Saturday.

In the wake of the change, it will be much cooler, particularly for coastal areas, however temperatures will remain above average inland.

Image 1: Eastern Australia Temperature Forecast Map