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‘Scorching hot’: Temperatures to hit 48C as heatwave continues

The Celsius is climbing across the country with temperatures expected to hit almost 50 degrees in Western Australia this weekend as the extreme heatwave continues.

An intensely hot air mass had been building over northwestern Australia this week thanks to clear skies and some of the longest daylight hours of the year, according to Weatherzone.

“A low pressure trough has been pretty stationary over the north of Australia and that's just drawing dry heat into the northern parts of the country from the very hot interior,” meteorologist Felix Levesque told Yahoo News Australia.

Cars driving on a dirt road in Marble Bar, Western Australia. Source: AAP
Temperatures have sat over 45 degrees for five days in a row in Marble Bar. Source: AAP

“So we can expect temperatures reaching into the 40s across northern parts of WA and the Northern Territory as well as extending into Queensland over today and into the weekend, as that heat trough gradually shifts north and a little bit to the east.”

Extreme weekend of heat on the way

For five consecutive days this week, temperatures exceeded 45 degrees in the inland Pilbara town of Marble Bar, with the celsius reaching 46.2 degrees on Wednesday. This was the highest temperature seen anywhere in the southern hemisphere so far this season. On Sunday, the thermometer is expected to hit 46 once again.

The highest temperatures are set to be felt in the west Kimberley and Pilbara regions, as well as the northwest coast, on Sunday and Monday.

“The hottest area will be around Eighty Mile Beach with some spots reaching 48 degrees,” Mr Levesque said. “That stretch of highway running between Port Hedland and Broome [will be] scorching hot over the weekend.”

The celsius is finally expected to drop from Tuesday as cooler winds push across the region.

People in waves at the beach.
The hottest place in the country on Sunday will be Eighty Mile Beach on the northwest coast of WA. Source: AAP

Temps plummet on the east coast

While on the opposite side of the country residents shivered through a chilly Friday morning with the NSW Snowy Mountains registering its equally lowest summer temperature on record.

The Celsius dropped to minus 7 in Perisher Valley in the early hours thanks to an unseasonably cold air mass, clear skies and light winds. It hasn’t been that cold at Perisher since January 1979, while Canberra recorded a 10-year record notching up a minimum temperature “just shy of one degree.”

It was a very stark contrast to the extreme heat being felt in the north of the country.

About 14 hours before Perisher hit minus 7 degrees, the outback Queensland town of Camooweal sweated through 44.5 degrees.

“It was a temperature difference of 51 degrees across the country, and in the span of 14 hours, going from maximum in the north to minimum in the southeast, ” Mr Levesque said. “The figures are interesting when we get to this time of year and get such large comparisons and it shows the vast differences in climate that we have across Australia.”

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