WA weather: Record-breaking heatwave night as Bunbury has its hottest ever

Perth and parts of WA have endured a stinking night as records tumbled in both the city and regional areas.

Bunbury had its hottest ever night reaching a scorching 27.3C. The previous record was 26C.

Perth hit a minimum of 27.5 degrees just before 5am, the hottest in 10 years.

Swanbourne reached a minimum of 28.7C, its hottest ever in February — only just behind the all time record of 28.8C.

Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Jessica Lingard said the warmth was due to cloud cover.

“Cloud acts like a blanket or doona, which prevents the heat from escaping into the atmosphere,” She said.

Sunday saw some scorching temperatures recorded across the State.

Carnarvon hit a record high of 49.9C, smashing the old record of 47.8C. Shark Bay also recorded a record-breaking 49.8C, well above the previous 47.8C. Jessica Lingard says these records are significant.

“They’ve broken the old records by more than 2C, normally it will usually nudge over the old temperature by 0.1-0.2C but this obliterated it,” she said.

Perth reached a high of 42.4C on Sunday, the sixth 40C-plus day this month. With another sweltering 43C on the cards for Monday, the record of four 40C-plus days in February has been well and truly broken.

Perth is currently in a low-intensity heatwave situation ending on Wednesday when there’ll finally be some relief.

“Cool change is coming, keep an eye on the forecast as ex-tropical cyclone Lincoln will make things uncertain,” Lingard said

Locations likely to be impacted by the heatwave include Perth Broome, Bunbury, Carnarvon, Denham, Geraldton, Kalgoorlie, Kalbarri, Meekatharra and Mount Magnet.

The Bureau of Meteorology has issued the following advice:

• Severe heatwaves can be dangerous for many people, especially older people, babies, children, pregnant and breastfeeding women, people with medical conditions and people who are unwell.
• Seek a place to keep cool, such as your home, a library, a community centre or a shopping centre.
• Close your windows and draw blinds, curtains or awnings early in the day to keep the heat out of your home.
• If available, use fans or air-conditioners to keep cool.

Perth Forecast

Monday: 43C

Tuesday: 24-39C

Wednesday: 19-28C

Thursday: 15-31C

Friday: 16-36C

Saturday: 23-34C

Sunday: 19-33C