Fans of hot weather will be happy. Photo: AFP
Another spell of heat is headed for south-eastern Australia just as conditions ease for fire crews and communities following last week's record-breaking heatwave.
While weak cool changes should shield cities such as Adelaide and Melbourne from the worst of next week's heat, the two are forecast to cop 38 and 39 degrees next Tuesday.
Towns such as Mildura in Victoria and Deniliquin in the NSW Riverina will have maximums up to 42 by then, the Bureau of Meteorology says.
Wangaratta RSPCA employees assisting animals to keep cool during last week's heatwave. Photo: Simon O'Dwyer
“Some inland areas look like being as hot for as long as the last [heatwave],” said Brett Dutschke, senior meteorologist at Weatherzone, adding that clouds and rain streaming from tropical lows off north-western Western Australia will determine how intense and prolonged the next belt of heat will be.
Before next week's heat arrives, rainfall on Friday should ease conditions for firefighters battling blazes in South Australia, Victoria and NSW, with some areas potentially getting their heaviest falls in months.
“For a lot of places, it will be the best rainfall since last winter, and for some it will be the best for some years,” Dr Dutschke said.
Outlook for daytime temperatures over next three months.
A low near Broome has dumped more than 163 millimetres of rain in less than a day, making it the heaviest falls for the West Australian coastal town in at least 11 years, he said.
Sydney is likely to miss out on the extreme heat again, with coastal breezes moderating day-time highs.
The city is expecting slightly below-average maximums for most of the coming week, and may get between 5 and 20 millimetres of rain of Friday, according to bureau forecasts.
Outlook for rainfall over the next three months.
Last week's heatwave was one of the most intense to hit the country in the last 100 years, the bureau said in a report this week.
It followed another strong heatwave that broke records across northern NSW and Queensland at the start of January.
Long fire season expected
While welcome, the coming rain may reduce fire risks only temporarily as temperatures start to pick up from Sunday, Dr Dutschke said.
“The fire danger is likely to become severe in some parts of NSW, South Australia, Victoria, possibly even on Tassie for one day next week,” he said.
Prospects remain for a long fire season in south-eastern Australia. The bureau's seasonal outlooks for temperatures and rainfall released on Wednesday point to slightly warmer and drier conditions for the next three months.
“It will be an extra-long fire season,” Dr Dutschke said. “There are no strong signs of it getting cool and wet in the next month or so. We're still going to have elevated fire dangers right to the end of summer.”
In its outlook for the February-April period, the far south-east corner of the mainland - including Sydney - and most of Tasmania have a 60 per cent chance of warmer-than-usual days, the bureau said.
Odds for above-average daytime temperatures are slightly less for Melbourne and inland regions north to the Queensland border. Most of the rest of the country should have close to normal temperatures, the bureau said.
Most of the country can expect average rainfall for the February-April period.
One exception is most of NSW and Victoria, where the odds favour slightly drier conditions. Some drought-hit areas of inland Queensland may get relief with above-average rain tipped for some western parts of the state, the bureau said.
Global, local warmth
So far in January, Sydney's average maximums are about 1.5 degrees above the long-term average for the month.
For Melbourne, average maximums are about 3 degrees above average – boosted by last week's record run of four straight days of 41 degrees or hotter days.
The seasonal outlook and the potential of a third major heatwave for the summer come after annual heat records fell for Australia, making 2013 the country's warmest in more than a century of standardised records.
Globally, 2013 tied as the fourth-warmest with average combined land and sea surface temperatures 0.62 degrees above the average for the 20th century, the US's National Climatic Data Centre said on Tuesday.
December was the third-warmest on record, and continued the run of eight consecutive months where each was ranked in the top 10 warmest for each respective month, the centre said.
The warmth of recent years is even more dramatic if global temperatures over land are considered, said Neville Nicholls, a professor in Monash University’s School of Geography and Environmental Science.
‘‘Over land, every one of the last 13 years (2001-2013) is in the list of the warmest 14 years on record,’’ Professor Nicholls said. ‘‘Only one year from the 20th century (1998) is amongst the 14 warmest years over land.’’
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