Parts of Australia are bracing for severe intensity heatwave conditions as La Niña delivers a summer blast of sweltering temperatures, dry air and hot nights.
The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said Australia’s southern and eastern parts are next in the firing line.
Senior meteorologist Miriam Bradbury said coastal parts are set to climb to the high 30s, while inland areas could soar to the low 40s.
Low-intensity heatwave conditions are set to develop today across South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania and parts of NSW, triggering the BOM to issue a heatwave warning.
Parts of Western Australia have already been toughing it out with sweltering temperatures over the past week that Ms Bradbury said were set to continue “well into next week”.
Residents in the Kimberley and Pilbara can expect temperatures in the low to mid 40s this weekend, while scorched parts of the Western Pilbara will climb to the high 40s on Sunday.
On Friday and Saturday, heatwave conditions are expected to intensify across NSW before pushing into southern Queensland.
Ms Bradbury said “pockets of severe intensity heatwave conditions” will develop around north-eastern parts of Tasmania, southern Victoria and south-eastern NSW before sweeping up towards the NSW coast on Saturday.
In Victoria, heatwave condition will develop today and tomorrow across Melbourne and the Gippsland region bringing bursts of severe heat before a cool change arrives late on Friday.
Ms Bradbury said Melbourne was in the midst of the hottest trio of consecutive days the city has seen this summer.
In the Top End, the Northern Territory has escaped heatwave conditions and is instead contending with ongoing monsoonal conditions.
What’s the risk of bushfire?
Ms Bradbury said fire risk was “something to be aware of, especially coming off the back of three La Niña summers in a row”.
The BOM has issued a fire weather warning in parts of South Australia where hot, gusty conditions have sparked an emergency alert for residents in Port Lincoln on the Eyre Peninsula.
In Victoria, fire danger ratings aren’t expected to exceed high for the remainder of summer.
Wasn’t it just snowing in parts of southern Australia?
Yep.
Just two weeks ago, a mid-summer wintry blast delivered snow to the alpine regions in parts of Victoria and NSW, while Queensland sweltered through a separate heatwave.
Ms Bradbury said this showed how extreme the weather can be in Australia in only a short period of time.
“We can see these back-to-back within a fortnight. It’s interesting but not necessarily unusual,” she said.
