This was published 7 years ago
Sydney weather: Heating up with a storm chance as Christmas outlook brightens
By Peter Hannam
Sydneysiders will have to wait until the evening before relief arrives on what's been another hot day in inland suburbs in an unusually warm December.
Before then, sea-breezes restrict the city's maximum to 27.1 degrees on Tuesday, according to revised forecasts by the Bureau of Meteorology. Temperatures in the west, though, climbed above 36 degrees in many parts of the west - from Camden to Richmond - with Penrith reaching 37.1 degrees.
There's also an outside chance of thunderstorms across the Sydney basin, a risk that may linger into the evening depending the timing of the cool change.
"It looks like it will be a blustery cool change so it will drop temperatures pretty sharply for coastal areas when it comes," Rob Sharpe, a meteorologist with Weatherzone, said.
Another hot day for Sydney will have people looking for some cool relief.Credit: Jessica Hromas
Any storms on Tuesday, though, are likely to be fast moving from west to east.
A strong marine wind warning is in place for Sydney down to the Eden Coast, making it quite breezy for those seeking heat relief at the city's coastal beaches.
"Sunbakers will find the sand blowing across their towels," Mr Sharpe said, making it better to "find a friend with a pool".
The bureau is also warning of "deceptively powerful surf conditions" during Tuesday, with rock fishing and swimming potentially "hazardous".
The fire threat for Sydney is high but very high for the Illawarra/Shoalhaven regions and the far south coast. It is severe in the lower central west plains, where a total fire ban is also in place, the Rural Fire Service says.
So far this month, Sydney's maximum temperatures have been running almost 3 degrees above average, while minimums are more than 2 degrees above the norm.
Christmas picks
Weather models are now pointing mild to good weather for Christmas Day for many state capitals, with Sydney looking among the best places to celebrate the yuletide.
"It will be a pretty great day [for Sydney]," with quite sunny conditions and "just a small chance we'll see showers or a weak thunderstorm", Mr Sharpe said.
The forecast is for a top of 28 degrees in the city and 33 in the western suburbs, with mostly sunny conditions, the bureau said. Boxing Day and next Tuesday will be hotter, with 30 degrees tipped for both days in the city and as hot as 37 out west.
Adelaide looks likely to be hottest of the state capitals, with a string of days in the 30s from Thursday. On current forecasts, Christmas Eve in the SA capital will reach 37 degrees before tops of 40 degrees on both Christmas and Boxing Day. (See bureau chart below of the expected tops across Australia on Christmas Day.)
Melbourne will heat up a day later, with sunny weather producing days of 32 degrees for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Boxing Day could be a hot one for those heading for the Melbourne Cricket Group to see the start of the second test against Pakistan, with a sunny day and 35 degrees expected.
Brisbane will be relatively mild, with a run of partly cloudy days over Christmas and high-20s. Hobart will likely see a run of pleasant days in the mid-20s from Thursday, peaking nice for Christmas Day with sunny 29 degrees predicted.
Perth will bake with 41 expected on Wednesday before the mercury eases back to the low- to mid-30s from Friday to Christmas Day before a cool change brings relief for Boxing Day.
Cyclone in prospect
The main uncertainty hinges on the possible track of a tropical cyclone now off north-western Western Australia, Mr Sharpe said.
Whatever the direction of the cyclone, a lot of heat will build up over inland Australia, he said.
For now the Bureau of Meteorology is expecting the system to reach cyclonic strength on Tuesday and strengthen as it heads towards the WA coast.
Weatherzone is owned by Fairfax Media, publisher of this website.