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Australia has recorded its highest winter temperature on record as the country suffers from an untimely heatwave.
A scorching temperature of 41.6°C was recorded in Yampi Sound in north-west Western Australia on Monday.
The Met Office has “provisionally confirmed” the temperature, meaning they still need to carry out further tests to check the reading hasn’t been affected by something else before they can officially confirm it.
A BoM spokesman said that if legitimised, it would be considered “the record maximum temperature for any winter month across Australia”.
It surpasses the previous record of 41.2°C which was set at West Roebuck, about 100 km southwest of Yampi Sound, on August 23, 2020.
Local temperature records were also broken in Derby, Wyndham, Kununurra and Fitzroy Crossing, all in Western Australia, when the mercury topped 40C.
The heatwave had left parts of the country’s interior sweltering with temperatures up to 15°C higher than the August average.
Inland cities in the Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia and New South Wales also broke previous record highs last week.
Millions of Australians are expected to sweat through the final days of winter after a heatwave began to spread from the country’s interior last weekend.
Warmer air that had been reasonably dormant over central Australia is expected to spread across New South Wales and Queensland.
BoM predicts rising temperatures will last throughout the week, with some areas seeing highs around 11°C higher than average for the end of winter.
The unusual weather has been less than ideal for ski resorts, with many reporting snow losses and poor conditions heading into spring.
BoM has also issued a weather warning for areas along the country’s southern coast as a cold front is forecast to move northwards and cause severe winds.
Tasmania was warned of potentially “destructive” winds of more than 60km/h on Tuesday morning.
Elevated areas along the block corridor and between Swansea and Orford on the east coast could experience winds of up to 125km/h.
Swathes of Victoria and coastal areas of Western Australia, South Australia and New South Wales have also been warned to prepare for “damaging” and “destructive” winds on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Unusually warm weather is expected to heat up areas of Queensland and New South Wales to temperatures well above their August averages throughout the week (pictured, Bondi Beach)
Sydney
Wednesday: Sunny. Northwest winds at 15 to 25 km/h increasing to 35 to 50 km/h in the morning and then turning west in the early afternoon. Min. 16 °C Max. 28 °C
Thursday: Sunny. Westerly wind at 15 to 25 km/h, easing during the morning. Min. 13 °C Max. 23 °C
Friday: Sunny. Northwest winds at 25 to 35 km/h, becoming weak in the afternoon. Min. 12 °C Max. 19 °C
Melbourne
Wednesday: Partly cloudy. High chance of showers in the Dandenongs, medium chance across the rest of the country. Small hail possible in the bay suburbs late this afternoon and evening. Northwesterly winds at 35 to 50 km/h turning to the west early in the morning then decreasing to 20 to 30 km/h in the evening. Min. 13°C Max. 18°C
Thursday: Cloudy. Medium chance of rain. Winds from the west to the northwest at 20 to 30 km/h tending to the north to the northwest at 25 to 40 km/h during the day.
Friday: Cloudy. High chance of showers, most likely in the morning and afternoon. Winds from the north at 35 to 50 km/h, turning to the west at 25 to 40 km/h during the morning and then to the west-northwest at 20 to 30 km/h during the afternoon. Min. 13 °C, Max. 19 °C
Brisbane
Wednesday: Chance of fog in the early morning. Sunny day. Winds from the north to the northwest at 15 to 25 km/h, becoming weak in the afternoon and from the north to the northwest at 15 to 20 km/h in the afternoon. Min. 16 °C Max. 31 °C
Thursday: Sunny. Light winds from the north to northwest at 15 to 20 km/h during the day then light at night. Min. 19 °C Max. 33 °C
Friday: Sunny. Light northwest to northeast winds at 15 to 20 km/h during the afternoon then light during the night. Min. 16 °C Max. 32 °C
Perth
Wednesday: Mostly sunny. Chance of morning fog. Chance of light rain, most likely in the afternoon. Light winds becoming northwesterly at 15 to 25 km/h by midday. Min. 9 °C Max. 21 °C
Thursday: Cloudy. Very high chance of showers, most likely in the morning and afternoon. Northwest winds at 25 to 35 km/h tending to the west at 25 to 40 km/h during the morning then decreasing to 15 to 25 km/h overnight. Min. 15 Max. 21
Friday: Partly cloudy. Medium chance of showers, most likely in the morning and afternoon. West winds at 20 to 30 km/h. Min. 11 °C Max. 18 °C
Adelaide
Wednesday: Cloudy. Medium chance of showers, most likely in the early morning. West winds at 30 to 45 km/h decreasing to 15 to 25 km/h at night. Min. 13 °C Max. 17 °C
Thursday: Partly cloudy. Chance of light rain. Winds from the west to the northwest at 15 to 25 km/h, with a tendency to the north to the northwest at 25 to 35 km/h during the morning. Min. 11 °C Max. 22 °C
Friday: Partly cloudy. High chance of showers. Northwest winds at 25 to 35 km/h turning to the west at 30 to 45 km/h during the morning. Min. 14 °C Max. 19 °C
Hobart
Wednesday: Cloudy. High chance of rain, more likely in the morning. Northwest winds at 25 to 35 km/h tending to west at 30 to 45 km/h in the morning. Low 8 °C High 12 °C
Thursday: Partly cloudy. High chance of showers, with possible small hail in the morning. Winds west at 25 to 40 km/h, turning to the north to northwest at 15 to 25 km/h during the afternoon. Min. 7 °C Max. 14 °C
Friday: Cloudy. Very high chance of showers, most likely in the morning. Winds from the north to northwest at 25 to 35 km/h, turning to the west during the morning and then to the northwest at 20 to 30 km/h overnight. Min. 10 °C Max. 15 °C
Canberra
Wednesday: Partly cloudy. Northwest winds at 30 to 45 km/h, turning to the west at 35 to 50 km/h at noon and then decreasing to 25 to 35 km/h in the evening. Min. 8 °C Max. 18 °C
Thursday: Partly cloudy. Winds west at 15 to 25 km/h, turning to the northwest at 20 to 30 km/h during the afternoon and then decreasing to 15 to 20 km/h overnight. Min. 4 °C Max. 16 °C
Friday: Partly cloudy. Medium chance of showers. Northwest winds at 20 to 30 km/h increasing to 30 to 45 km/h during the morning and then turning to the west at 15 to 25 km/h during the afternoon. Min. 5 °C Max. 21 °C
Darwin
Wednesday: Sunny. Light winds from the east at 15 to 25 km/h in the morning and then from the northeast in the early afternoon. Min. 23 °C Max. 34 °C
Thursday: Sunny. Light winds blowing from the east to the northeast at 15 to 25 km/h during the morning and then from the northwest to the northeast at 15 to 20 km/h during the afternoon. Min. 23 °C Max. 24 °C
Friday: Mostly sunny. Light winds from the northwest to northeast between 15 and 25 km/h during the day and then from the west to northwest in the afternoon. Min. 23 °C Max. 33 °C