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Record summer heat in Sydney

Thomas Hough, Sunday January 7, 2018 - 12:02 AEDT

After Melbourne's scorching day yesterday, Sydney is breaking summer heat records today.

Conditions in Melbourne began to heat on Friday as a low pressure trough and northerly winds directed a very hot airmass over Victoria's capital. This cumulated yesterday when the city topped out at just shy of 42 degrees, making it the hottest day for nearly two years, with January 13th 2016 peaking just over 42 degrees.

Temperatures peaked just after half past five in the afternoon, meaning Melbourne residents sweltered through nearly an entire day of ever increasing heat. Relief however came very shortly after this, with the city dropping a massive 14 degrees in just 10 minutes as winds swung around from a hot northwesterly to a much cooler southerly direction.

Many will be glad to hear that conditions over the next few days are set to be significantly cooler, with temperatures expected to stay below 30 degrees until around Thursday. For those in NSW however things are heating up further today. Sydney has so far reached 41.1 degrees, making it the hottest day in 5 years. The highest recorded January temperature for Sydney stands at 45.8 degrees, back on the 18th January 2013.

Conditions in western parts of Sydney are even hotter today with Richmond currently peaking at 43.3 degrees. This makes it Richmond's 6th 40 degree day this summer, an 80-year record for this early in the summer.

For those of you in Melbourne, enjoy the more comfortable conditions today. For those of you in Sydney and elsewhere in NSW, it's going to be a hot one! Stay cool and keep hydrated!

- Weatherzone

© Weatherzone 2018

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