Hot, dry, and windy conditions could make any fires hard to control as a heatwave moves through south eastern Australia on Thursday February, 2024.
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00:00 Hot with extreme fire dangers for large parts of southeastern Australia today.
00:05 So looking at that in more detail, extreme fire dangers are current for parts of eastern South Australia,
00:11 western and central Victoria, that does include the Melbourne metropolitan area,
00:16 and parts of eastern and southeastern Tasmania, including around Hobart.
00:21 This means if you live in these orange shaded areas, that hot, dry and windy conditions will lead to extreme fire dangers.
00:28 That means if a fire does get going, it will be hard to control and contain in these extreme conditions.
00:35 So please watch out if you live in these areas today, and particularly this afternoon and this evening as that front moves through.
00:42 So looking at these temperatures, it is very hot across large parts of southeastern Australia,
00:48 particularly through inland areas where we're seeing temperatures into the 40s,
00:51 but even through the cities, we're looking at 38 degrees today in Melbourne and 36 degrees today in Hobart,
00:57 and that's its hottest day so far this summer.
01:00 But it's all about the cool change and when will that come through.
01:02 So currently we've got a cold front off the coast of South Australia,
01:06 and that's going to move into southeastern parts of South Australia and southwestern parts of Victoria later this morning into that lunchtime hour.
01:15 Then as we move into the early afternoon, we can see that front moving into western Victoria,
01:20 and there's really hot air starting to stream down ahead of the front.
01:24 But note the much cooler and gusty winds behind it as well,
01:27 and that's going to bring cool change to coastal areas of South Australia during today,
01:31 and then into western and southern parts of Victoria as we move into the later afternoon.
01:36 Now as we get into the Melbourne area at this stage, looking at that cool change timing around six to eight o'clock,
01:42 six o'clock for bayside areas and more eight o'clock into our outer northern and eastern suburbs.
01:47 While down in Tasmania, cool change moving through the west coast early mid-afternoon,
01:51 but probably not into the Hobart area until the evening hours, you know, give or around that eight o'clock time frame.
01:57 Then as we move through this evening, we're going to see that front continue to quickly move through Victoria,
02:02 then start moving into New South Wales.
02:05 So tomorrow the heat focuses across northern and eastern New South Wales,
02:09 including around the Sydney area with temperatures in the mid to high 30s there.
02:12 And ahead of this front and trough, we're likely to see widespread thunderstorm activity,
02:17 and some of those could be severe with large hail, damaging winds and heavy rainfall,
02:21 and then a gusty cool change moving to the Sydney area tomorrow evening.
02:25 So for those heading to the Taylor Swift concert, please stay up to date with the forecast there.
02:30 Then as we move into the rainfall associated with this system,
02:34 very little through the Victorian area with just a few showers and storms, and same down in Tasmania.
02:40 But note tomorrow, widespread shower and thunderstorm activity,
02:43 and some of those will be severe as we move through the afternoon and evening hours on Friday.
02:49 So with a lot of weather going on across much of south-eastern Australia,
02:52 remember to stay up to date with the latest forecasts and warnings via our website, app and social media.
02:57 And if any fires do get going, listen to all advice from emergency services.
03:03 (Music)