00:01We're already seeing the temperatures pushing well into the 20s, if not low 30s across parts
00:07of the north already.
00:08Top temperatures today should reach the mid to high 30s in many places, with Melbourne
00:13City itself expecting to reach 36 degrees.
00:16And what's happening with the winds?
00:21Very strong north-northwesterly winds are being seen ahead of this front.
00:25We expect them to be strongest through this afternoon as that front draws nearer.
00:31Now the front will be moving through the western districts through the early and middle part
00:34of this afternoon, likely reaching central areas later this afternoon into the early
00:39evening period.
00:40So around that 5-6pm mark, then it'll push out eastwards through the course of the evening.
00:45Now very strong winds are expected as that change moves through, shifting from those north-northwesterlies
00:50around to a milder southwesterly.
00:53But we may also see strong winds with any showers or storms that do develop.
00:58Okay, and how dry is the fuel on the ground and the fire warning areas?
01:05So we have seen pretty dry conditions across the last week or so at least, across much of
01:11western and central Victoria.
01:12Even going back further than a week, we've seen very little rainfall through these areas,
01:17which has helped to dry things out.
01:19Now in terms of how moist the air is today, how humid it is, it's not as dry as some
01:25of
01:26the periods we have seen through January and early February, but it's still certainly dry
01:30enough to ramp those fire dangers up to extreme.
01:32You mentioned thunderstorms in your forecast there.
01:35So is lightning a concern?
01:39Yeah, we do have that risk of storms through western and central parts today.
01:43Most likely with and ahead of that change.
01:45Lightning is a concern.
01:46However, we are also expecting some showers and rain areas as this front moves through.
01:51So it's potentially not as great a concern as some of the other peak fire days we've seen.
01:55But still, it's definitely a good day to keep an eye on the radar for anything that could
01:59be developing as it still could pose a potential threat with that heat and those strong winds
02:03ongoing.
02:04And how do these conditions then compare with what the state faced in January when we saw
02:09those devastating bushfires?
02:13Well, I think one of the key differences is that through a couple of those periods, we
02:17did see catastrophic fire danger ratings for several districts.
02:20Today, we're one category down from that extreme fire danger ratings for the Wimmera,
02:25South West, North Central, Central, and Western South Gippsland districts.
02:29So still triggering that total fire ban, still very dangerous conditions, but not at that
02:34highest point on the scale.
02:36The temperatures aren't quite as high as what we saw back in January, and the winds aren't
02:41quite as strong.
02:42That said, whenever we see that total fire ban come into play, we just should be aware
02:46that that means dangerous fire weather conditions, and we really all need to play it as safe
02:50as we possibly can.
02:51And what's the forecast beyond today, Miriam?
02:56So for the next couple of days, we're going to move into a much more settled period after
03:00this front moves through.
03:02So temperatures will come right down into the 20s for many areas, possibly the high
03:0620s, low 30s across the north.
03:08But certainly much milder tomorrow compared to what we're seeing today.
03:11The winds will gradually ease back too.
03:13We could see a few showers across southern Victoria over the next day or two.
03:17But towards the end of the week, those warm temperatures will start to return and we could
03:21see some more elevated fire dangers as we go into the weekend.
03:2401 point to the wind.
03:26I'm sure it's okay if we have a great idea warming around today.
03:30The wind
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