Sizzling heatwave to scorch Australia – here’s how hot it will be in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane…

A sweltering heatwave will scorch most of the country and blister some parts as temperatures rise above 40 degrees Celsius.

A strong high pressure system off Australia’s southern coast will batter Perth on Thursday, with the mercury rising 10C-13C above average and reaching a high of 33C.

Weather Zone meteorologist Sam Umhoeser told Daily Mail Australia the warm weather will then drift eastwards, joining South Australia and the southern coast to experience temperatures 10 degrees above normal by the weekend.

“On Friday we will be sailing along the south coast and on Friday evening we will be off the coast of Victoria and starting to approach Tasmania,” he said.

‘It will then move inland towards Queensland and into north-west NSW. The range there will be about 6 degrees Celsius – 9 degrees Celsius above average, but not extreme.”

Mr Umhoeser said the cause of the heatwave is the combination of a “very strong” high-pressure system, which draws moisture from the air, and clear skies, which allow “the sun to bake the entire region”.

“NSW could see these above-average temperatures briefly in the western half of the state,” he said.

‘It looks like we could see temperatures of 10 to 11 degrees above average for a short period around Sunday afternoon, during the peak hours of the day.

‘When it cools down at night, the temperature is again 5 to 6 degrees above average. The trend that most of the country is seeing at that moment.”

The northern half of the country will also melt, with parts of Queensland and the northern region seeing temperatures exceed 40 degrees Celsius.

“Most of the northern half of the country will see significant temperatures,” Umhoeser said.

Extreme fire danger warnings are likely to be issued for southwestern parts of Western Australia and parts of South Australia, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

The hottest day in eastern Australia, Sunday, will most likely be classified as a high fire danger, depending on the wind.

But the heatwave won’t last beyond the weekend as a cold front is expected to move in and bring cooler temperatures to sweep across Australia on Monday.

“It will travel north and cool us down a bit,” Mr Umhoeser said.

He said the early heatwave doesn’t necessarily mean Aussies will have an extreme summer.

“It doesn’t look like this first heat wave will be indicative of a truly above-normal summer,” Umhoeser said.

“Right now it’s showing a slightly above-average summer, but not too much.”

Brisbane

Thursday: Partly cloudy. Moderate chance of showers, probably in the afternoon and evening. Chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon and evening, possibly heavy. Wind speeds up to 30 km/hour. Maximum 31.

Friday: Partly cloudy. High chance of showers, probably in the late morning and afternoon. The chance of thunder. Wind northwesterly at 25 km/h. Min 18 Max 30m.

Saturday: Partly cloudy. Moderate chance of showers, probably in the morning and afternoon. The chance of thunder. Light winds from east to southeast, 15 to 25 km/h in the morning. Minimum 19 Maximum 27.

Sunday: Partly cloudy. Small chance of showers in the morning and afternoon. The wind will blow light to 25 km/h during the day and turn northerly to 15 to 20 km/h in the evening. Minimum 20 Maximum 29.

Sydney

Thursday: Partly cloudy. High chance of showers, probably in the afternoon and evening. Chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon and evening. South to southeast 15 to 25 km/h during the middle of the day. Maximum 25.

Friday: Partly cloudy. Medium chance of showers. Winds from the south at 15 to 20 km/h, becoming light early in the morning, becoming southeasterly 15 to 25 km/h in the early afternoon. Minimum 16 Maximum 23.

Saturday: Cloudy. There is a moderate chance of showers in the morning and afternoon. Wind southeast 15 to 20 km/h, turning north to northeast 15 to 25 km/h during the afternoon. Minimum 15 Maximum 22.

Sunday: Mostly sunny. Light winds becoming northerly at 15 to 25 km/h in the morning then becoming light in the evening. Minimum 16 Maximum 30.

Melbourne

Thursday: Partly cloudy. Medium chance of showers, becoming less likely in the afternoon and evening. Wind west to southwest 15 to 20 km/h, trending south to southwest 20 to 30 km/h late morning and early afternoon. Maximum 19.

Friday: Cloudy. Small chance of showers. Wind south to southwest 15 to 20 km/h, increasing to 25 km/h, before trending south to southeast to 20 km/h during the day. Minimum 10 Maximum 17.

Saturday: Mostly sunny. The chance of morning frost over the nearby hills. In the morning the wind turns weakly to the north, 20 to 30 km/hour. Min. 8 Max. 26.

Sunday: Partly cloudy. Moderate chance of showers, probably in the morning and afternoon. The wind will increase to the north to 30 to 45 km/h in the morning and turn south to south-westerly to 20 to 30 km/h in the afternoon. Minimum 19 Maximum 27.

Perth

Thursday: Sunny. Wind easterly at 30 km/h, turning southwest to 15 to 25 km/h in the early afternoon. Wind gusts of up to 60 km/h over the hills in the morning. Maximum 33.

Friday: Mostly sunny. In the morning the wind will turn weak to west to southwest, 20 to 30 km/hour. Min. 15 Max. 27.

Saturday: Cloudy. Small chance of showers, probably in the morning. Wind west to southwest 20 to 30 km/h, trending south to southwest 15 to 20 km/h during the day. Minimum 16 Maximum 21.

Sunday: Partly cloudy. Small chance of showers in the morning. Light wind, light during the day from 15 to 25 km/h and light in the evening. Minimum 11 Maximum 22.

Adelaide

Thursday: Partly cloudy. Wind southerly 20 to 30 km/h. Maximum 25.

Friday: Mostly sunny. Wind southeast 15 to 25 km/h, becoming east 15 to 20 km/h late evening. Minimum 10 Maximum 24.

Saturday: Mostly sunny. There is some chance of showers in the southern suburbs in the evening. Almost zero chance of rain elsewhere. In the morning the wind turns north, 25 to 35 km/h. Min. 12 Max. 34.

Sunday: Small chance of showers, probably in the morning. Sunny afternoon. Wind west to northwest at 30 km/h, turning south to southwest 15 to 25 km/h during the day. Minimum 16 Maximum 23.

Hobart

Thursday: Cloudy. The chance of a shower is moderate, the chance decreases in the afternoon. Wind southwest 20 to 30 km/h, trending west 15 to 25 km/h in the evening. Maximum 15.

Friday: Cloudy. Moderate chance of showers, probably in the morning and afternoon. Wind northwest 15 to 25 km/h, turning southwest 20 to 30 km/h in the morning, then west and light in the late evening. Minimum 8 Maximum 15.

Saturday: Partly cloudy. During the afternoon the wind will turn weakly to the north, 15 to 25 km/hour. Min. 6 Max. 22.

Sundaj: Partly cloudy. Small chance of showers, probably in the morning. Wind north to northwest 25 to 40 km/h, turning west during the day. Minimum 13 Maximum 21.

Darwin

Thursday: Partly cloudy. High chance of showers and a chance of thunderstorms, probably early this morning and again this afternoon. Light wind. Maximum 33.

Friday: Partly cloudy. High chance of showers, probably in the early morning. Chance of thunder. Light wind from north to northeast, 15 to 20 km/h in the afternoon. Min. 25 Max. 33.

Saturday: Partly cloudy. Small chance of showers, probably in the evening. Chance of thunder. During the day light winds from north to northeast, 15 to 20 km/h. Min. 25 Max. 34.

Sunday: Partly cloudy. Medium chance of showers. The chance of a thunderstorm around the Cox Peninsula. During the day the wind will be weak from the northeast, 15 to 20 km/h. Minimum 26 Maximum 35.

Canberra

Thursday: Partly cloudy. Small chance of showers, probably in the afternoon. Wind northwest 15 to 20 km/h, trending west 20 to 30 km/h during the middle of the day. Maximum 25.

Friday: Partly cloudy. Small chance of showers. The light wind will become northwesterly 15 to 20 km/h in the early afternoon and turn easterly 15 to 25 km/h in the evening. Min 7 Max 23.

Saturday: Clearing of the clouds. Wind from the east 15 to 20 km/h, turning north in the morning and becoming light in the evening. Min. 6 Max. 25.

Sunday: Mostly sunny. Light winds becoming northwesterly at 20 to 30 mph in the morning, then becoming light in the evening. Min. 8 Max. 31.