A cooler change is finally expected to hit western Queensland today, breaking an almost two-week heatwave.
The state’s all-time heat record was close to being broken yesterday as the state continued be put on severe fire alerts.
Western Queensland fire crews were put on high alert as the Bureau of Meteorology predicted possible flare-ups in conditions that saw 40+C temperatures and 50km/h winds that were expected to lash the region, but thankfully didn’t materialise into new fire fronts.
Several towns including Thargomindah, Ballera and Windorah smashed 45C yesterday, with Birdsville again taking out the top hot spot, hitting a scorching 48.7C, just 1C shy of the state’s 49C all-time maximum record.
A long awaited shift in temperatures is expected to begin today, with a trough set to cross the NT/QLD border leading to a dramatic fall in temperatures. Birdsville’s maximum set to drop by 16C.
The cooler trough will then make its way towards the southeast coast by Monday or Tuesday, with BoM Meteorologist Peter Markworth revealing much-needed rain might finally be on the cards as well, with potential for it to reach as far north as bushfire-ridden Fraser Island.
“System like this forecasted normally has rain that comes with it – so it wouldn’t be out of the question to expect some falls in the coming week.
While the cooler change is expected, it was still a hot morning in many parts of the state. The mercury had already hit 30C by 7am in Richmond, Winton in the central west, most of the state’s northwest, Windorah in the Channel Country.
In the southeast, Brisbane was sitting at 26C, Gold Coast Seaway at 25.6C and the Sunshine Coast Airport at 26.5C just before 7am.
Originally published as Relief on the way after scorching heatwave