Temperatures soar 15C above average at weekend heatwave hits Australia

Temperatures have soared about 15C above average as a heatwave moves through southeastern parts of Australia. The hot conditions have brought an extreme fire danger to northwest Victoria as northerly winds sweep through the area before a cool change is expected later on Saturday. Bureau of Meteorology meteorologist Christie Johnson said a cool change would push its way through South Australia into western Victoria on Saturday afternoon and reach Melbourne in the evening. “That will push heat further eastwards, but that change does stall, so tomorrow we’ve still got temperatures well and truly above average,” she said. Ms Johnson said areas across Victoria and southeast New South Wales had experienced temperatures 10 to 15C above average, which would become less intense as the heat contracted. Melbourne reached 37C on Friday and is expected to be hit with more hot weather on Saturday before a cool change comes later in the day. Most of the northern, central and eastern parts of Victoria are also expected to reach temperatures in the high 30s. “Coonawarra in southeastern South Australia had its warmest November day, it got to 37.8C on Friday,” Ms Johnson said. “We also set a couple of records overnight with the with minimum temperatures in places like Mount Gambier, Ballarat and at Essendon Airport around Melbourne Creek all setting records for the warmest November night.” Ms Johnson said it would also be warm in NSW as temperatures reached between 6 to 10C above average. Inland parts of South Australia could be hit with thunderstorms as a band of rain moves through the state. Ms Johnson said there was more risk of thunderstorms with heavy rainfall that could cause flash flooding throughout Saturday. “That storm risk extends down into western Victoria on Saturday as well, it’s connected to the storms that are ongoing over northern WA and the Northern Territory,” she said. There is severe thunderstorm risk over the interior parts northern WA and parts of the Eastern Pilbara. “As we move into Sunday, there’s a trough moving very slowly across the country,” Ms Johnson said. “The area for showers and thunderstorms extends from the Top End down through northeastern parts of South Australia into Victoria and western New South Wales. “There’s a risk of some severe storms in that band, probably over the southern NT, northeast South Australia and western parts of the NT. “The band is less likely to get to Victoria, but it could produce heavy rainfall or damaging wind gusts over WA. “The risk of the severe storms decreases over the interior, but we do have a risk of damaging wind gusts with thunderstorms over the Pilbara and Gascoyne region in WA going down into parts of the central west. “There is a chance some thunderstorms will reach the northeastern suburbs of Perth, but they’re less likely to be severe.” Residents living in southeast Queensland will have a break from severe thunderstorms but a few showers are still expected to hit the region. Ms Johnson said flood warnings were in place for parts of Queensland as rain that had fallen in previous days moved through the river systems and made its way downstream. The SES received 84 call-outs overnight from residents in Moreton Bay, the Gold Coast and Brisbane mostly for leaky roofs as the area was drenched with rain. People living in South Mission Beach, north of Brisbane were also cut-off by flash flooding.