Fourth consecutive day over 40C a record for Adelaide in December
WE’RE enjoying a brief escape from the heat today, with the mercury in Adelaide finally below 20°C for the first time since the morning of December 14 - but the new forecast for Christmas Day is out. And it’s hot.
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THE temperature in Adelaide has finally dropped below 20°C for the first time since the morning of December 14, as a cool change ends a record four-day heatwave.
The south-westerly change swept through in the early hours, dropping the overnight temperature several degrees. By 7.30am Adelaide’s temperature was about 21C and by 9.30am it had dropped to 19.1C.
But it won’t last, with temps to get back up to the high 30s just in time for Christmas.
Christmas Eve is forecast to hit 39C, with a top of 37 for Christmas Day, with showers developing - and back to cooler weather on Boxing Day, with a predicted top of 28C.
Adelaide’s high today was pleasant 25.8 - although, that was at 6am. By 9am, the temperature was 19.7C. About 2mm of rain has fallen so far in Adelaide today.
It’s a welcome relief after days of extreme heat.
Port Augusta confirmed its status as one of the hottest places on the planet yesterday.
The “Gateway to the Outback” hit 47.2C at 2.47pm, beating its previous record of 46.1C set on December 30, 2005.
The Mid North centre was just 3.5C off Australia’s hottest summer day of 50.7C, in Oodnadatta on January 2, 1960.
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The hottest city outside Australia on Saturday was Singapore, at a moderate 34C.
The next hottest locations in Australia were Whyalla, with a top of 45.8C, and Port Pirie, which reached 45.6C.
Adelaide’s top temperature yesterday was 43.2C at 4.02pm.
It was the fourth consecutive day when the mercury exceeded 40C in Adelaide — a record heatwave for December — and the sixth day this month to top that mark, a record for the total number of December days over 40C.
Outside SA, Melbourne was the hottest city in the country, reaching 41.2C at 3.21pm, while Canberra hit 36.3C.
Port Augusta’s run of extreme temperatures this week included 42.7C on Wednesday, 45.2C on Thursday and 43.8C on Friday.
The town’s Ryan Mitchell Swim Centre has had more than 200 people through its gates each day and the beaches and jetties have offered relief for dozens of children and families.
The Pastoral Hotel Motel manager Chris “Doggy” O’Dea said the pub had been busy since Wednesday.
“We’ve had quite a few come through the bar looking for a cold beer and the airconditioner,” he said.
“It’s good for business when it’s hot but you really feel it when it gets this hot.
“We also have $4 pints (of beer) from midday until 5pm, they’re probably the cheapest in the world, so that gets punters in, too.’’ Temperatures across the state began to drop from late afternoon as a cool change moved in from the west.
Earlier, wind gusts reached 95km/h at Edinburgh, 89km/h at Lameroo and 82km/h in the Riverland.
Tarcoola, in the far northwest of the state, had wind gusts up to 72km/h.
Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Mark Anolak said the cool change would drop temperatures by about 15 degrees today but the weather over the next few days would still be warmer than usual for this time of year.
“The week ahead is still going to be above-average temperatures but it will be a relief after the run of 40C days Adelaide has had.”
The bureau has forecast a hot Christmas Eve in Adelaide, possibly reaching 39C but Mr Anolak said it could creep into the 40s again.
Adelaide has a forecast top of 37C with a few showers developing for Christmas Day.
“We’ve already had six days above 40C in Adelaide, in December, which is a new record, and Christmas Eve could make it seven days but we’ll have to wait and see,” he said.
From 8am on Friday until 8am on Saturday, 72 people were treated at hospitals across the state for heat-related issues and 34 were admitted.
Some metropolitan emergency rooms struggled to cope. Waiting times averaged from 10 minutes at the Royal Adelaide Hospital to two hours at Noarlunga Hospital.
Country Fire Service crews responded to eight grass fires across the state, while power outages affected more than 5680 people in the Barossa Valley, the city, northern, southern and western suburbs.
Sport competitions were abandoned due to the extreme heat. A total fire ban has been declared in the Flinders district today.
TIRED FARMERS
Peachy keen, but pickers are plum-tuckered
By Jade Gailberger and Katie Spain
IT’S a tough job but somebody has to do it. As the sun belts down on South Australia, primary producers are doing their best to meet demand for local grub this Christmas.
Dino Ceracchi, of Renmark’s Lowana Fruits, has been rising early to beat the heat — and the clock.
“We’ve been growers and packers of stone fruit and have been for 35 years,” Mr Ceracchi (pictured) said.
“It’s a very difficult time. We’re not accustomed to this sort of spell pre-Christmas. You normally get a couple of 40-degree days here and there but not like this.” The physical effect on his staff of 60 is challenging. “Everyone is drained. It’s getting hard to get through day by day. We’ve had a good run really up to date, but this is very trying for everyone; the pickers, the trees, the fruit.”
The normal nine-hour picking day has now been cut back to four because of the heat.
“We can hardly pick to lunchtime and that means we’re not able to pick through the varieties,” Mr Ceracchi said. “So we’re only picking around 40 per cent of what we could.” He said varieties such as white peaches couldn’t be picked past 9.30am, adding: “They just can’t sustain being picked any later than that. They damage on the skin too easily.”
For many producers, sizzling conditions are a double-edged sword. It helps in one way and hinders in another.
“Although the heat tends to slow down the process of maturing, growers find it hard to keep up with some of their varieties so there’ll be more losses with soft fruit,” Mr Ceracchi said. “We’re also struggling to keep up with the amount of water needed.
“It’s drying out very, very quickly. It’s important that we keep the water up so that there’s some sort of cooling process within the tree or there will be a lot more damage.”
Primary Producers SA Chair Rob Kerin said the heat brought different challenges to a variety of industries.
“We do get this sort of weather in February but this is earlier in the year than usual,” Mr Kerin said.
“Livestock are like us — they don’t have the airconditioning that we have so it’s a matter of making sure their water is checked often.”
Water was also an issue for horticulture, grapes, vegetables and fruit growers. He said: “The major thing most landholders are worried about on a week like this is fire. We’ve got through the week pretty well.
“The fact that it hasn’t been a really windy week has helped with fire risk but also the effect on crops. The wind really dries things out.”
But thunderstorm forecasts are worrisome for stone fruit producers like Mr Ceracchi.
“At the end of all this we could get an unfortunate storm,” he said. “If we get hit by rain during this change in weather it will do massive damage to the fruit.
“It’s like an acid rain, it seems to stain all the peaches. It’s really depressing and lowers the value of the fruit. A lot of it has to be thrown out. It’s good fruit gone bad.”
Yet while they’re exhausted and struggling to keep up with demand, there’s an upside. Mr Ceracchi is “very pleased” with the quality and flavour.
He said: “My advice to consumers is to look hard for the local brands because the quality is exceptionally high and the flavours are there this year.
“If I was a consumer I’d be there supporting the Riverland and really appreciating what we’ve been able to serve them this week, especially with (what) we’ve been going through.”
He adds it’s part of life on the land and wouldn’t be Australia “if you didn’t have to deal with stuff like this once in a while.”