East coast to sizzle after record October temperatures in Australia’s west | Australia weather

October temperature records have fallen this week in South Australia, Queensland and New South Wales, while highs in the upper 30s can be expected in Sydney and Brisbane.

According to Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Dean Narramore, “a huge chunk of weather” was forecast for the south-east on Wednesday.

He said there was the potential for record temperatures in parts of NSW, as well as storms potentially producing damaging and destructive winds in southern Victoria, south-east SA and even the south coast of NSW.

Narramore said new October temperature records were set over the weekend at Telfer (44.3°C) and Warburton (43.9°C) in Western Australia, and Ernabella (40.9°C) and Tarcoola (43.9°C) in SA.

But as the focus of heat moves eastward and increases into SA, NSW and southern Queensland, many more places could approach or exceed record temperatures in the coming days.

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“Many places are looking at temperatures 10 to 16 degrees above average,” Narramore said. Some can even reach 18C above average.

Narramoore said on Monday this could include outback areas such as Oodnadatta, Moomba and Marree in SA, Ballera in Queensland and Flowers Gap in NSW.

Record highs could be more widespread on Tuesday, potentially including Birdsville (45C expected), Tibooburra and Coonamble in regional NSW and even Bathurst.

On Wednesday, higher-than-normal temperatures will move into the towns of Lightning Ridge, Bathurst and Orange in NSW and Cunnamulla in Queensland. The weather in Sydney is predicted to be hot and windy, with the temperature predicted to be 38C.

“We could see a lot of October records being broken across the ranges and even in Sydney’s far western suburbs,” Narramore said.

Heatwave conditions, defined as three consecutive days with both maximum and minimum temperatures well above average, were unlikely to be met in Sydney but could be met in parts of the Northern Territory, Queensland and northern New South Wales.

High fire danger was expected in WA, Queensland, northern SA and NSW this week. “On Wednesday, we could even see extreme fire dangers across parts of the Illawarra, the Sydney metropolitan area and as far as the Hunter due to a combination of very hot, very windy conditions and some dry air.”

Australia’s land surface has warmed by 1.5 degrees since 1910, according to the bureau, and the climate crisis has increased the frequency and severity of extreme weather events.

Capital estimate

Sydney

• Tuesday: Partly cloudy. Min 18 Maximum 24

• Wednesday: It will be windy. Partly cloudy. Min 18 Maximum 38

• Thursday: Partly cloudy. Min 18 Maximum 24

brisbane

• Tuesday: Sunny. Min 18 Maximum 30

• Wednesday: Mostly sunny. Min 19 Maximum 30

• Thursday: Partly cloudy. Min 19 Maximum 37

perth

• Tuesday: Mostly sunny. Min 9 Maximum 21

• Wednesday: Sunny. Min 9 Maximum 23

• Thursday: Partly cloudy. Min 11 Maximum 21

Adelaide

• Tuesday: Showers. The storm is developing. Min 14 Maximum 27

• Wednesday: Possible early storm. Showers. Min 14 Maximum 19

• Thursday: Partly cloudy. Min 11 Maximum 20

Melbourne

• Tuesday: One or two showers developing. Min 10 Maximum 20

• Wednesday: Showers. Possible storm. Min 14 Maximum 23

• Thursday: Possible shower. Min 10 Maximum 16

Hobart’s

• Tuesday: Cloudy. Min 7 Maximum 17

• Wednesday: Rain. Min 8 Maximum 14

• Thursday: Cloudy. Min 7 Maximum 15

canberra

• Tuesday: A late shower or two. Min 12 Maximum 30

• Wednesday: Showers are increasing. Min 14 Maximum 31

• Thursday: Sunny. Min 7 Maximum 23

Darwin

• Tuesday: Mostly sunny. Min 26 Maximum 36

• Wednesday: Partly cloudy. Min 26 Maximum 35

• Thursday: Mostly sunny. Min 26 Maximum 35