Temperatures are again reaching sweltering conditions across Queensland today as a heatwave pushes through to Monday.
The mercury had soared to 44.6C at Windorah in the Channel country by 1.30pm, making it the hottest place in Queensland.
Other areas that are scorching include Roma at 44.4C, The Monument at 44.1C, Charleville at 43.6C, while Winton hit 42.8C.
In the southeast, the noon temperature at Gatton was 35.7C, Beaudesert 34.9C, Ipswich 34.9C and Brisbane City 31C.
A hiker decided to brave the heat but had to be rescued from Mt Barney in the Scenic Rim after suffering severe dehydration.
They were taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital II in a stable condition.
Areas of severe heatwave are continuing in southern and western Queensland, while extreme heatwave conditions will be experienced in south central Queensland and over the NSW border.
Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Felim Hanniffy said temperatures will remain hot over the weekend, however not as extreme as past days, where places like Thargomindah and Birdsville reached 46 and 45 degrees respectively.
He said parts of the southern inland and southeastern interior will still see high 30s and low 40s, while overnight minimums will remain “very, very hot” in the mid 20s.
“Then that trough weakens through the southeastern inland and kind of pushes back a little eastwards and remains slow moving about the interior during Saturday,” he said.
“Saturday temperatures will warm up again in the southeast interior and then we get a significant change coming into the southwest probably late Saturday … eventually across the southeast Monday and Tuesday.
“Ahead of that it’s going to get hot again for a time, temperatures will be back into the low 40s.”
It comes as the state is expected to have elevated fire danger across the weekend, with regions including the Channel Country, Darling Downs and Granite Belt, Maranoa and Warrego and parts of central Queensland today hitting very high fire danger ratings.
Mr Hanniffy said the southeast will see potential for increased fire danger warnings before Monday as chances of storms and showers inland on Friday.
“Wednesday we have very highs around the southeast and inland – it wouldn’t take much for them to go into severe, just a little bit stronger windflow and that could go into severe, so its very high,” he said.
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reached 46 and 45 degrees respectively
“Saturday and Sunday it will escalate again and there will be potential for severe, particularly Sunday when you get that strong weather system moving into the southwest moving eastwards.”
Temperatures are expected to remain up to four degrees above average.