Australia Day scorcher to end in possible thunderstorms
Updated ,first published
Brisbane residents are sweltering on Australia Day with temperatures near 40 degrees, with the possibility of another storm in the evening.
The Bureau of Meteorology’s Shane Kennedy said temperatures in Brisbane would be eight degrees above average (36 to 37 degrees) at its peak.
Residents of Ipswich were expecting highs of up to 39 degrees, while temperatures further west were expected to exceed 40 degrees.
“It could still be a pretty warm night, but tomorrow the wind will shift from the southeast,” Kennedy said.
“[We’re] “We expect afternoon temperatures to drop into the low 30s, very near average, and stay around those low 30s for the rest of the week.”
Heatwave conditions were expected inland for the remainder of the week, with temperatures 11 to 12 degrees above the average expected for the week.
At 7.30pm BOM confirmed in the Toowoomba region that “a severe thunderstorm has been detected near Hampton which may produce damaging winds and large hailstones”. It was predicted to affect Crow’s Nest and the area north of Toowoomba.
On Monday afternoon, a storm was thought to be possible for Brisbane with damaging winds similar to Sunday night’s storm.
However, the capital avoided such an event and hot conditions continued although rain was still possible.
“It is more likely to happen in the western suburbs and further west, i.e. inland, but there is still around a 10 per cent chance of storms reaching the CBD today.
“One positive effect of thunderstorms is that it really cools conditions overnight. If we get storms later that will be a huge blessing.” [on Monday].
“It’s good for temperatures, but there’s potential for some wind damage.”
Nearly 220,000 lightning strikes were recorded in the state’s southeast during Sunday evening’s storms.
Strikes on the electricity network caused approximately 13,600 homes and businesses to lose power, with 450 customers affected at 8am on Monday morning. By 11am that number had dropped to just 66 customers at Ashgrove and Hendra.
No heat-related outages have been reported.
Other citizens turned to water to protect themselves from the heat.
After seeing the day’s weather forecast, Marcelle and Chris retreated to the South Bank’s Streets Beach to cool off.
“We thought it would be very full today,” Marcelle said.
“We’re sweating our hangovers out,” the couple laughed.
James, who came from England, was also attracted to the South Bank, especially the shady areas.
“I knew Brisbane was going to be hot,” he said.
Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary staff were working hard to ensure the animals stayed cool in the heat.
“On hot days, dingoes and Tasmanian devils may walk or lie down in ponds to cool off,” said Rebecca Bain, head of mammals at Lone Pine.
“Keepers may also wet soil or sandy areas to provide a cooler place for them to rest. ‘Blood rings’ [blood ice blocks] It can also be a delicious way to help them cool down.
“Flying foxes can use their wings as fans to cool themselves down in hot weather. We also offer them showers on hot days; the water can cool the flying foxes and the surrounding environment. They can then lick the water off themselves and nearby branches when they need a drink.”
Lone Pine is open on Australia Day, but visitors are unlikely to see wombats.
“On hot days, they tend to retreat to underground burrows; it’s up to a few degrees cooler there,” Bain said.
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