NSW heatwave: Records tumble in Moree, while Sydney set to swelter with top of 40C
Updated
As the mercury soars in Sydney today, spare a thought for the people of Moree in northern New South Wales, who are in the midst of a record-breaking heatwave.
Key points:
- The temperature has exceeded 35C in Moree for the past 27 days
- It is a NSW record, with the previous benchmark being 17 days
- The mercury is expected to top 40C in western Sydney today
The town's residents have sweltered through 27 consecutive days where the temperature has exceeded 35 degrees Celsius — a state record.
The previous benchmark was 17 days, and the bad news is, there is no respite in sight.
Rob Taggart from the Bureau of Meteorology said the string of sweaty weather in Moree was unprecedented, even for summer.
"This is unheard of," he said.
"The previous record was 17 days in a row of 35 degrees or more and that was set in the summer of '81 and '82.
"This new sequence of 27 consecutive days has smashed the previous record.
"We're also forecasting 35 degrees out at Moree for the remainder of the week so it looks like this new record will run out to 34 days in a row."
A hot day is forecast for Sydney, with a top of 38C on the coast and 40C in the west, although a cool change will come with showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon and evening.
By 12:00pm, Sydney had already reached 35.2C while Moree was over 32C.
Mr Taggart said NSW was "sandwiched" between weather events.
"There is a high-pressure system in the Tasman Sea which the [hot] air mass to not move out to sea," he said.
"At the same time we've got a trough, which is to our west, which is directing a whole lot of hot air over New South Wales."
Topics: weather, environment, storm-event, moree-2400, nsw, sydney-2000
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