Australia's heatwave registers new hottest day on record, BOM says

Yesterday was Australia's hottest day on record, according to preliminary data from the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM).

The average temperature across the country was 40.9 degrees Celsius, breaking the mark of 40.3C set in January 2013, but it's a record unlikely to last for long.

Temperatures were well over 45C for much of the interior — the location record (50.7C at Oodnadatta) is still safe — but the wide spread of exceptional heat meant the national average record was broken.

The heat is expected to keep building over the next few days as the air mass moves across the country.

A few of the standout temperatures yesterday included:

Ceduna (SA) – 46.5 Birdsville (Qld) – 46.1 Lajamanu (NT) – 46 Rabbit Flat (NT) – 45.8 Jervois (NT) – 45.6 Longreach (Qld) – 45.3 Trepell (Qld) – 45 Oodnadatta (SA) – 44.9 Oodnadatta is forecast to get up to 47C today, tomorrow and Friday, before cooling slightly to 45C on Saturday.

But Oak Valley, further to the west in outback South Australia, is predicted to reach 49C tomorrow.

Closer to the coast, the heat is far from over for Adelaide — daily maximums for West Terrace will hover around 42C before reaching 44C on Friday, when the fire danger is also expected to peak.

That's nightmarish. I wouldn't survive it.

Does that come with humidity?

Depends...if you live along the eastern seaboard as I do, then yes. If you live on the western seaboard as in desert city Perth, then no. However, if you live in country or in central Oz no-one really knows, folks out that ways never live to tell, they just melt into their shoes.

And on Saturday all the players in the Presidents Cup were wearing heavy jackets in December. Apparently the Heatwave was preceded by unusually cold weather.

And then there is this:

 Australia are contributing to warmer weather in New Zealand, MetService forecaster Andy Best says.  Photo: AFP

MetService forecaster Andy Best said in many New Zealand towns and cities, temperatures were eight to 10 degrees higher than the average maximum for this time of year.

Karikari, Masterton, Blenheim, Christchurch and Lyttelton all had temperatures in the high 20s this afternoon.

"This is because a lot of the heat from the bushfires in Australia has been transported across the Tasman Sea," Mr Best said.

Smoke from 57 wildfires burning in Queensland and 68 fires in New South Wales is also making the air hazy in parts of New Zealand, he said.

.....

Begs the question weather this heat is  man made.....not global warming, but man made bushfires?  

I live on the perimeter of a forest surrounded by 25+foot trees, if there's a fire 10 km's away with a swirling wind carrying the embers in our direction we could suffer a serious problem. Officially summer has just arrived and the long term forecast is for prolonged hot weather with extreme temps. We have to shut our windows because of intense smoke withn the air.

Happened to us a few times in  Bantry Bay....pretty miserable and dangerous. Take care!

Hmmmm ... so while escaping this shithole is a good thing ... escaping it to Australia may not be the wisest of moves.

Oh alright then smartarse, if you have a better alternative let me know, but email me, it will spare you embarrassing yourself on the world wide web. 

Well ... let me see. New Zealand is a lot cooler ... so are many countries in Europe. Any one of them would be a better alternative to a sweltering 45 degree desert wasteland burnt to shit by the Sun and fire.

I'm rather fond of the Sun but there is a limit to what my dogs and I can endure. Anything above 35 is a tough ask. My dogs suffer big time with those kind of temperatures.

It's just too unpleasant.

Nope .. think I'll give Oz a miss.

"Nope .. think I'll give Oz a miss."

On the contrary, Oz won't miss you.

The problem as far as I can understand  is that a 19-year old volunteer firefighter was arrested for starting a number of fires.   I think that a lot of other fires may also have been started by loonies,  

I did not know the situation in Sydney was so bad as a result of smoke - will have to phone my friends in Sydney this  weekend to hear how they are coping.

What happened to the volcanic eruption on an island near the Bay of Plenty,  Cloudy?  

CC, spent many a holiday around Brisbane, Pearly Beach, Rockhampton and up the coast as well as South and Western Australia. 

Yes it is humid in the locations we visited but being from Durban we did not find it uncomfortable. Most of our visits were made in and around January- March which is summer time in Australia and winter in Canada.

Australia and in particular Perth have many SA families who have made it home and are settled in. Home is what you make it to be irrespective of where you are.

The lifestyle is very much what South Africans enjoy in RSA with respect to sport, surfing, work and communities and they even drive on the correct side of the road.

If I had not held business interests in Canada, Australia would have been home now. Children are now grown up, married with children so Canada is home with a slight nip in the air around this time of the year and snow on the mountains which is both refreshing and enjoyable.

But Australia is worth an extended visit friendly folks and reasonable if you do your homework and plan accordingly. We drove around but made use of the flights between towns as much as we could as air travel is/was very affordable as opposed to driving for hours and hours to get anywhere.

Regarding these fires we pray that rain and the firefighters win the battle before the devastating fire reaches built up populated areas.

Our thoughts are with all who are threatened.

Hoping and praying.

I hate to say it Cloudy, I spent more time there and I preferred Melbourne.

Thanks Arthur. I have been to Australia before and even though it was hot then, it never reached these kind of temperatures.

Dreading the coming summer season isn't pleasant. Enduring an above average spring and then going into another 3 - 4 months of summer at around 40 degrees is not how I'd like to live my old age ... besides, I have my hounds to consider.  

The east coast of Australia is beautiful ... but there's more to consider than a little eye candy.

No I visited Oz pretty regularly for about 15 years, but I mostly visited Melbourne where our businesses were located.  They are both lovely cities....as are Cape Town, Auckland and San Francisco....their cultural and climatic equivalents.

Cloudy, yes we did visit Sidney.

We spent two weeks in and around the city in 2001 and had a great time.

Actually had an opportunity to expose my untanned body (sadly) and do some body surfing if you can call what I did surfing.

We were very pleased to visit the Zoo, Opera house and walked the bridge during our stay and enjoyed the atmosphere and entertainment at the Ferry Terminal.

You will enjoy visiting Canada lots to see and do.

The  Fall season is the best time to visit Canada. 

Cooler weather, the trees changing color, the Northern Lights, the Rookies and the Salmon runs must be seen during that season and are simply terrific.

When you make the trip let us know as Vancouver and the Okanagan region is worth a visit as well.

NSW bushfires see 'catastrophic' fire danger issued for Greater Sydney, Illawarra and Southern Ranges 

The NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) has warned it would be a "miracle" if more homes were not lost tomorrow amid a catastrophic fire danger warning across the south-eastern coast.

It is only the second time such a warning, the highest level of bushfire danger, has been issued for the Greater Sydney area since the rating system was introduced in 2009.

Both instances have been during this year's unprecedented bushfire season in NSW, which has already seen blazes tear through 2.9 million hectares.

Tomorrow, the warning will be in place across Greater Sydney, the Illawarra/ Shoalhaven and the Southern Ranges.

Temperatures are expected to peak at the mid-40-degree mark during Saturday's heatwave, with gusty winds and dry conditions exacerbating the 100 blazes burning in the state.

NSW RFS Deputy Commissioner Rob Rogers said the forecast of extreme weather on Saturday throughout the state would bring "major problems".

"Tomorrow is possibly going to be one of the toughest days we've had," he said.

"I know we've had a lot of difficult days over this fire season and we had a really tough day yesterday. But tomorrow, from a fire point of view, could be even tougher."

At least 800 buildings have so far been destroyed during this year's bushfire season and Mr Rogers said the number was likely to increase over the weekend.

"I think it is a fairly sure thing we will lose homes somewhere tomorrow. It will be a miracle if we didn't," he said.

Some 1,800 firefighters are working today and that number is expected to double tomorrow.

A section of the Great Western Highway will be closed from tonight, as the Gospers Mountain fire burns at an emergency level.

The major highway will be cut off between Little Hartley and Blackheath from 6:00pm until further notice.

The Bells Line of Road also remains closed between Bell and Bilpin, shutting off both major routes between Sydney and the central-west region.

Mr Rogers said the Gospers Mountain fire was causing problems at the Lithgow end and was expected to move towards Kurrajong Heights tomorrow.

The RFS will be undertaking backburning tonight to try and protect communities around Blackheath.

Efforts will also be focused on stopping the Green Wattle blaze from crossing the Hume Highway.

The Princes Highway down towards Shoalhaven is also expected to be closed tomorrow.

Mr Rogers warned the public to make a plan and leave early to ensure their lives and the lives of others are not put at risk.

"Yesterday, we saw trained firefighters who had the right equipment and training, they got burnt and overrun in these fires," he said.

"We are very lucky we did not see serious casualties [among] the public yesterday and we don't want to see that tomorrow.

"Go somewhere else. Go to the beach, shopping centre, go somewhere else for the heat of the day and make sure you are not there." The blaze at Green Wattle Creek is also burning at emergency level. It has already razed through 176,000 hectares of land.

Two firefighters Geoffrey Keaton, 32, and Andrew O'Dwyer, 36, died while helping fight the blaze yesterday.

On Thursday NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian declared a state of emergency for seven days.

Cloudy we are concerned to hear of the additional fire damage and loss of life.

We can only join you in praying for help to arrive asap.

Please could you post the link to the fund you mentioned as I am sure that many a member of this site would willing make a contribution.

No I live on the outskirts of Vancouver, British Columbia which is on the west coast or as many prefer to call it the "Wet Coast".

Montreal is in Quebec on the eastern coast of Canada about 6 and 1/2 hours flying time away.

Thank you.

All the best to you as well over this Christmas season.

Trust that bloggers will do what needs to be done please see info in Cloudy's last posting for details.

Thank you.

God Bless.