Severe heatwaves to impact south-east Australia

Australian Community Media

Sweltering temperatures returning for much of the east coast.

Transcript

00:00A significant heatwave likely to impact much of southern and southeastern Australia later this

00:06week as temperatures climb into the mid-40s. And we can see that on the heatwave map for the next

00:12few days where we're already seeing heat building across much of Western Australia where we have

00:17large areas of inland WA experiencing severe heatwave conditions in the start of this week

00:22with low intensity heatwave conditions spreading across much of southern and southeastern Australia.

00:27But then as we move into the time frame of Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, we're likely to see severe

00:32heatwave conditions through much of South Australia, New South Wales and Victoria with extreme heatwave

00:38conditions starting to build across parts of Victoria and New South Wales. But our most concern is the

00:44three-day period running Wednesday through Friday where we're likely to see extreme heatwave conditions

00:50over a huge part of New South Wales and northern Victoria, practically everywhere between Melbourne

00:56and Sydney and extending well inland. Now here at the Bureau, we define a heatwave as three

01:02consecutive days where both the maximum and minimum temperature is well above average for this time

01:08of year. And that's exactly what we're seeing across much of southern and southeastern Australia

01:13this week. So let's take a look at some of those temperatures. Firstly, we can see today we've already

01:19seen temperatures into the low 40s by 11am through parts of inland WA today. And we're starting to see

01:25that heat build across inland parts of Australia as well. Then as we move into Tuesday, that focus of

01:31the heat shifts into still WA but also now starting to move into inland South Australia and even far

01:37southwest Queensland. But then as we move into Wednesday, we'll see temperatures really jump up

01:43through our populated parts of southeastern Australia, with even our coastal areas looking at temperatures

01:48in the low 40s. That does include Adelaide and Melbourne and everywhere in between. But look at our

01:54inland temperatures, where we're seeing temperatures climb into the low to mid 40s. And that's going to

01:59continue on Thursday and Friday as well. And that's what's driving that widespread severe to extreme

02:04heatwave conditions. Now Thursday, we could see a bit of relief for our coastal areas, right on the coast

02:10within about 10-20 kilometres of coastal areas, you may see a bit of a southerly wind bring some relief. But once you get a bit further

02:16inland, we're going to see that heat continue through inland South Australia, inland New South Wales and

02:22northern Victoria as well for the second day in a row with temperatures in the mid and possibly even into

02:27the high 40s. Then on Friday, we'll see a stronger change start moving into coastal parts of South Australia

02:34during the day on Friday, but a third day of temperatures well into the 40s through inland parts of

02:40South Australia, western New South Wales and much of northern Victoria. With that heat, then once again,

02:46reaching our coastal locations in Victoria ahead of that strong and gusty change. And Tasmania also

02:51looking at temperatures in the high 20s to low 30s for multiple days, particularly through northern

02:56and eastern parts. Now that's the temperatures. Now what do the fire dangers look like in the coming

03:01days? Well, thankfully, there's not too much wind. We've got some gusty southerly winds today though,

03:06through the north country of Victoria. So that's driving extreme fire dangers there. But generally,

03:11we're looking at high fire dangers for much of South Australia, Victoria and inland New South Wales.

03:16Then as we move into Tuesday, it's kind of a bit of a brief day where we're not going to see any major

03:21fire conditions and the heat really starts to build through parts of South Australia. Then on Wednesday,

03:26you can see high fire dangers for all of Victoria, much of New South Wales, with extreme fire dangers

03:33likely for many parts of southern South Australia, including the Mount Lofty Ranges, the southeast,

03:38and parts of the Eyre Peninsula due to the combination of hot, dry and windy conditions.

03:43And then on Thursday, we'll see the focus of those extreme fire dangers moving to northern Victoria.

03:49And then you're not seeing it here, but Friday, we're likely to see extreme fire dangers for much

03:53of South Australia and Victoria ahead of that strong and gusty change Friday night into Saturday.

03:59So with all these hot temperatures and gusty winds later this week, it's important you stay up to date

04:04with the latest forecasts and warnings via our website and app. Make sure you prepare for a major heat

04:09event through southeastern Australia later this week and into the weekend. And as always, if and when

04:14fires do get going later this week, listen to all advice from emergency services and we'll continue to

04:19keep you updated here at the Bureau.

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