Sydney temperature soars to 40C but cool change on the way
Sydney and parts of NSW are melting under hot weather today, with the mercury reaching 40 degrees Celsius in the west.
Key points:
The Bureau of Meteorology said temperatures will remain high until midnight
Temperatures will peak today about 5:00pm
A coastal warning has been issued for Tuesday as gusty conditions move in
North-westerly winds ahead of a cold front are bringing in hot air mass from Central Australia, causing a spike in temperatures.
It reached 36.5C in the Sydney CBD but Penrith got to 40C and Parramatta fell just below at 39C.
A cooler southerly change is not expected until about midnight and at 5:00pm the CBD was still at 30C. Bureau of Meteorology’s (BOM) Agata Imielska said sea breezes have been helping to keep temperatures down, but westerly winds are pushing warm air across later in the day, bringing temperatures up.
“For November, at this particular stage in the month, some areas are warmer than what we would expect but for others it’s fairly consistent for this time of year,” she said.
“For Sydney, we are expecting the proper southerly to come through about midnight, so that’s really when we’ll see temperatures dropping quite significantly.
“Things will start to cool off [after 5:00pm], but then that significant cooler change will be around midnight.”
Across the state, in the Wheatbelt region, Walgett and Moree hit 40 and 41 degrees respectively.
Temperatures around Wollongong peaked at a lower level of 28.6C, aided by the sea breeze.
Up on the Central Coast it was much hotter, with Gosford reaching a high of 38.3C.
Three girls sit by Parramatta River, one drinks water
A group of friends try to stay cool alongside the Parramatta River.(ABC News: Mridula Amin)
Newcastle hit 29.1C but just north in Raymond Terrace it was 38.2C.
The BOM has issued a coastal warning from Byron Bay down to Batemans Bay, in response to the gusty conditions coming in tonight and continuing tomorrow.
For Sydney’s forecast tomorrow, there is a slight chance of showers with a maximum temperature of 22C.
ABC
