SYDNEY - Australia is bracing itself for an intense heatwave across its north and west during the New Year’s holiday weekend, with temperatures forecast to touch more than 45 deg C, while severe thunderstorms are expected to hit the country’s east.
The heatwave follows a wild weather system that battered the country’s east over the Christmas holidays, killing 10 people and knocking out power for tens of thousands, and after Cyclone Jasper earlier in December caused widespread flooding and damage.
Australia’s December-to-February summer is under the influence of the El Nino phenomenon, which usually brings above-average daytime temperatures, and can cause weather extremes ranging from wildfires to tropical cyclones to prolonged droughts.
Extreme heatwave conditions are forecast for large swathes of the state of Western Australia, with temperatures in Marble Bar, a remote old mining town in the north-west, expected to hit 49 deg C on Dec 30, the Bureau of Meteorology said in its latest update.
The Queensland outback towns of Longreach and Julia Creek in the north-east are set to hit 47 deg C at the weekend, while night-time temperatures in many parts of the Northern Territory could remain in the low 30s for several days.
The intense heatwave has also prompted the authorities to raise bushfire risks, with several regions under total fire bans.
But in the east, thunderstorms were expected to redevelop from Dec 29 across eastern Queensland and north-east New South Wales, continuing into the new year.
Ms Sarah Scully, forecaster at the Bureau of Meteorology, said: “Severe thunderstorms are possible... although activity will not be as widespread compared to previous days. Isolated gusty thunderstorms are also possible over western South Australia.”
Some storms in the east could become severe on the afternoon of Dec 29, the bureau said, with the potential for large hail, wind gusts of more than 90kmh and heavy rain.
The storms were expected to ease by New Year’s Eve and not impact Sydney’s iconic fireworks display, as the Bureau of Meteorology predicted cloudy conditions on Dec 31 with a very slight chance of rain. REUTERS
