Weather News

Prolonged heatwave on the horizon

Ben Domensino, Wednesday January 17, 2018 - 12:09 AEDT

Parts of southeastern Australia experienced a relatively mild start to the week, although a prolonged heatwave is about to grip multiple states and territories.

A pool of cold air surged over southeastern Australia during the weekend behind a pair of cold fronts. It was even cold enough for the alps to experience their first snow flurries of 2018.

Temperatures then were kept below the norm early this week as a strong low pressure system in the Tasman Sea maintained southerly winds across the region.

Maximum or minimum temperatures have been close to 10 degrees below average in parts of Tasmania, Victoria, NSW and Queensland so far this week.

After the brief cool spell, a return of northerly winds will see the mercury climb noticeably during the second half of the week.

Forecast models indicate that the upcoming bout of hot weather will be long-lasting, causing extended heatwave conditions across a large portion of the country during the second half of January.

The persistent heat will be the result of a stagnant area of high pressure sitting over Australia's southern latitudes, which will prevent any strong fronts from penetrating very fair into the nation's mainland.

Temperatures are forecast to reach the low-to-mid forties for a large area of the Australian outback for at least the next seven days, although this run could extend well into late January for some areas.

While the most prolonged heat will be experienced inland during the next couple of weeks, coastal areas will have their fair share of the warmth too.

Adelaide is forecast to reach 37 degrees today and then endure two nights and days with a temperature range of 25 to 41 degrees. The city typically sits between 17 and 29 degrees at this time of year.

Melbourne will reach the high thirties tomorrow and could give 40 degrees a nudge on Friday, with Canberra experiencing similar highs on Thursday and Friday.

While extended periods of hot weather are a typical feature during summer, recent research suggests that heatwaves are - and will continue to become - more frequent and longer lasting in Australia's southeast due to global warming. Weak La Nina conditions, like we are currently experiencing, can also make prolonged spells of heat more frequent in parts of southern Australia.

A persistent spell of intense heat early in 2017 saw Moree register 54 consecutive days with temperatures reaching 35 degrees or above. Prior to that summer, the previous record was 50 days this hot during the summer of 2012/13 at Bourke Airport.

- Weatherzone

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