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Several states are bracing for scorching temperatures this weekend, after one city suffered its hottest day in two years.
Forecasters have warned of “unprecedented challenging extreme heat” over the next few days as a heat wave moves east from the Western Australian outback.
Melbourne residents sweltered their first day of 40C in three years on Friday.
Victoria’s capital quickly reached high temperatures with 30°C recorded at 9am before the city hit 40.5°C at 3:47pm
The last time Melbourne hit 40°C was on January 31, 2020, meaning it spent 1,112 consecutive days below 40°C.
Melbourne had a 40C day for the first time in three years (Pedestrians on St Kilda beach pictured)
High temperatures were felt in Victoria on Friday (a temperature map of Victoria is pictured)
“This is the longest stretch of days below 40C in 50 years, since the record 1,790 days that began on February 26, 1968 and lasted until January 3, 1973,” said Weatherzone’s Ben Domensino.
As of Saturday, Melbourne is expected to dip back into the 20s, with partly cloudy conditions for the next week.
Residents of New South Wales are bracing for the hottest conditions in the state in more than 400 days, with hundreds willing to flock to the beaches to cool off.
Sky News Weather Meteorologist Alison Osborne confirmed New South Wales could record its hottest summer day yet, with parts of western Sydney expected to hit 38 degrees Celsius on Saturday.
‘Temperatures in NSW will rise on Saturday. Inland NSW it will be over 40C in many areas,” she said.
After hovering around 30°C through Saturday, Sydney will enjoy temperatures of up to 20°C for the next seven days, with possible showers forecast Tuesday through Thursday.
However, the heat raises other concerns, as the state has one of the worst summers on record for drowning.
So far this summer, 23 people have drowned on the coast, all in unpatrolled areas.
Meanwhile, 16 properties were engulfed in a bushfire in Port Lincoln, South Australia, which broke out on Thursday afternoon.
Although the fire was contained overnight, area-wide warnings are in place for potentially dangerous smoke caused by the fire, which started at the city’s landfill.
The CFS has advised residents to keep their windows and doors closed.
A severe heatwave will hit Western Australia from Friday (heatwave forecast pictured)
While investigations into the cause of the fire are ongoing, the CFS confirmed that “several properties” had been lost in the fire.
A CFS spokesperson estimated that two commercial structures, believed to be at the waste management facility, and “some residential properties” could have been affected.
More than 80 CFS and 14 MFS firefighters were needed to bring the fire under control.
Temperatures in Adelaide will stay around 20 degrees over the weekend before moving to 33°C on Monday and Tuesday, rising to sweltering highs of 38°C on Wednesday and Thursday.
Forecasters also warned of the possibility of parts of WA hitting 50C early next week for the second time in February.
While heat wave conditions persist across WA for the foreseeable future, high temperatures will leave the South East over the weekend but remain across much of SA.
Perth will hit 34C over the weekend before cooling down a bit early next week. The city does not expect rain for the next seven days.
Hobart saw its hottest day in two years on Friday at 36.1C, 14C above average.
Temperatures in the Tasmanian capital will start to drop, bringing a few possible showers on Saturday and Monday.
Canberra’s temperature will climb to 35C on Saturday as a possible storm approaches.
Meanwhile, northern Australia is expected to face more storms in the coming days.
Queensland, which is still recovering from recent cyclone conditions, can expect monsoonal showers, raising the possibility of heavy rain and flash flooding.
Severe weather warnings have been put in place for Cairns, Cooktown and Port Douglas.
Melbourne’s streak of days below 40C was the longest on record in 50 years (St Kilda beach pictured)
Darwin will experience temperatures of around 32C every day until Thursday of next week, with thunderstorms on Saturday and expected to persist until Thursday at least.
Brisbane will be partly cloudy and around 30C for the next seven days.
Darwin will experience temperatures of around 32C every day until Thursday of next week, with thunderstorms on Saturday and expected to persist until Thursday at least.