Perth braces for four-day heatwave

A FOUR-DAY heatwave is forecast to hit the Perth metropolitan area in the coming days, with authorities warning of a high bushfire danger.

Today the mercury is set to rise to 38C, followed by 41C on Sunday and Monday, then dropping back to 38C on Tuesday.

Bureau of Meteorology duty forecaster Andrew Mostyn said the searing conditions could prompt extreme danger on Sunday and Monday.

“It doesn’t appear as though it will be catastrophic for the fires but with the hot dry weather, it will probably be extreme,” Mr Mostyn said.

“On Sunday and Monday northeasterly winds will drag hot air from the inland Pilbara region down towards Perth.                                                                                                

“However, along the coast, there will be an afternoon sea breeze but it won’t penetrate enough inland to really affect the Perth temperature in the afternoon.”

Local swimming pools and metropolitan beaches are expected to be packed on Sunday as people seek relief from the heat.

The hottest January day ever recorded in Perth was 45.8C on January 31, 1991.

Source  :  www.news.com.au

Advertisement

Read Full Post »

Perth’s driest start to autumn on record

This is turning out to be Perth’s driest start to autumn on record, taking at least 47 days to exceed just five millimetres of rain.   

Before this year, the longest it had taken to exceed five millimetres in autumn was 46 days and that was in 1994.

The rest of this week will be bone dry for southwest WA, much the same as the last three weeks. But rain is just around the corner.

The next rain will arrive in Perth early next week when a high finally moves east from the Bight and allows a front to make an impact on the southwest of the state. This will signal the turning of the season. Showers initially will be light but are likely to become more frequent and heavier as the week wears on as more fronts extend further inland.

Showers will even penetrate to inland areas which have been extremely dry recently. Lake Grace in the Great Southern has not had a drop of rain so far this autumn, the driest start to the season in 96 years of records.

www.watoday.com.au

Read Full Post »