February is a traditionally a hot month, but this current weather situation is taking things to a whole new level.
There are two driving factors to this record-breaking run of hot weather since the new year began.
There has been no cyclone development, making for predominantly clear skies over central Australia. This has allowed the sun to beat down constantly, building a hot a pool of air, which has stagnated over the country’s heartland.
The second factor is the lack of strong cold fronts, combined with stalled high pressure systems in the Tasman, causing the majority of the frontal activity around the country.
Over the next five days all of this activity will reach its crescendo. The extremely hot pool of air will be flushed from the centre, thanks to the strongest front of the year so far, forcing the heat to spill across the populated areas of the broadcast region.
The hardest hit areas will be the suburbs west of Newcastle, with places like Wallsend to potentially reach 46 to 47 degrees. If this does occur, a lot more heat records will tumble.
Temperatures will begin to fall early next week once the front passes.
Keep up the great local news sport & weather coverage NBN . . I have never been a news ‘watcher’ until i moved to the Hunter Valley 5 years ago . Though your broadcast keeps me in the know of what I can expect & what’s happening. . Thankyou for this service you provide freely & professionally .
Greta reached 46.5 degrees at 4.25 pm today … it had dropped to 49.3 as I took this image for you…
We are on the west side of Harpers hill.
Jim
( No photo attach option here ?)
That should read 49.5 degrees at 4.25pm, sorry.
For all you folks sweltering in Port Macquarie and everywhere else, don’t believe that Coffs only got to 35. It’s 7.24 pm as I write this and it’s still 40 on my back deck, and 36 inside. I don’t know where the temps are measured in Coffs but we are regularly way above the posted temperature. All praise to the firefighters!