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  • 2 days ago
Dangerous conditions forecast for South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania, with high temperatures and wind changes possible from Wednesday February 4, 2026.
Transcript
00:00High to extreme fire danger is forecast across southeastern Australia tomorrow due to warm
00:06to hot and windy conditions.
00:08Let's take a look at the fire dangers over southeastern Australia.
00:12Starting in South Australia, we can see high fire danger across most of the south of the
00:17state, but it's these orange areas where we're expecting extreme fire danger.
00:21That includes the west coast, the York Peninsula and the Mount Lofty Ranges.
00:26Now remembering that the Mount Lofty Ranges takes in the Florio Peninsula, where we saw
00:30a significant fire start last night.
00:33We also have some of these high fire danger areas that are very close to the threshold
00:37for extreme fire danger, and that includes regions such as the Murraylands and the upper
00:43southeast.
00:44Over in Victoria, the extreme fire danger is mostly through central parts, particularly
00:50the central district, and this includes the Melbourne area and also the north central district.
00:56Once again, we also have some other districts that are very close to the threshold for extreme,
01:01including the Wimmera and the western south Gippsland district.
01:06And down in Tasmania, at the moment we currently have high fire danger across the state, except
01:11for in the northwest.
01:12However, our latest modelling suggests that it could actually be even worse than this tomorrow,
01:17and we're now expecting high fire danger right across the state and reaching extreme fire
01:21danger through the east coast and the Midlands district.
01:25Now why are we seeing these high to extreme fire dangers?
01:28Well, we do have warm to hot conditions.
01:30In Tasmania, high 20s, even some low 30s on the east coast.
01:35In Victoria, we're seeing temperatures in the 30s across much of the state, possibly even reaching
01:39the high 30s in the north.
01:41While in South Australia, we're seeing temperatures in the 30s or even the low 40s across much of the
01:47state.
01:48Now you'll notice we do have some cooler temperatures right along the coast.
01:52Now that's because we are expecting a wind change.
01:54And while that wind change will bring some cooler air later in the day, it will also
01:58increase the winds and that contributes to the fire danger.
02:02So let's take a look at that change now.
02:04We see it's a double change with this trough moving slowly across Victoria and also a cold
02:10front across the Southern Ocean approaching Tasmania.
02:14By the time we get to the mid-afternoon, we've got this trough over central Victoria,
02:19and it brings some very strong winds around that trough.
02:22There's also the chance of some thunderstorms, particularly through western South Gippsland,
02:26which if you'll remember, was very close to extreme fire danger.
02:29So we're watching for the potential for new fire starts from lightning tomorrow.
02:34In Tasmania, with that approaching cold front, we're seeing strengthening northwesterly winds,
02:39particularly affecting the east coast and the Midlands where the fire danger is extreme.
02:43Well, over South Australia, we don't have a sharp wind change, but we will see a strengthening
02:49of these southerly winds as we go through the afternoon and that will increase the fire danger.
02:55As we go through the evening, that front will cross Tasmania and the trough will move into
02:59northeastern parts of Victoria.
03:02We will continue to see extreme fire danger over northeastern parts of Victoria into Thursday.
03:08Finally, let's take a look at the other side of the country.
03:13Over in Western Australia, this strong ridge to the south is directing south-easterly winds
03:17across most of the state.
03:20Now in areas in the south where those winds are coming off the ocean, we do see some cooler
03:24temperatures.
03:25However, where they're coming off the land, we're continuing to see a lot of heat building,
03:29particularly over the Pilbara and the Gascoyne, where some of these purple areas are showing
03:34areas over 40 degrees.
03:37So that is giving us some high to extreme fire danger even in the west as well.
03:42High fire danger right across the west of the state, reaching extreme through some areas,
03:46including inland areas of Perth, where we have seen bushfires over the last week or so.
03:54So with lots of heat and wind and high to extreme fire danger across southeastern and western
04:01Australia, it's going to be important to stay up to date with the latest forecasts and
04:04warnings on the Bureau's website and the BOM Weather app.
04:08Follow all advice from your local emergency services, listen to their total fire bans and
04:13please stay safe.
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