SA heat records tumble as CFS braces for strong winds, lightning on Friday
More temperature records are tipped to fall today, as Adelaide experienced its hottest-ever night, where the mercury barely dipped below 35C. SEE HOW HOT IT GOT
SA News
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Bushfires are already burning and more heat records are expected to be torched across South Australia today as extreme temperatures gripping the state reach a dangerous climax.
A perfect storm of searing heat, dry lightning and strong winds ahead of a cool change this afternoon has prompted the Country Fire Service to warn that bushfires burning in catastrophic conditions would be difficult to stop.
Already, fires have started burning across the state.
The Nullarbor yesterday reached a sizzling 49.9C – the third-highest temperature ever recorded in SA and the fourth hottest temperature recorded in Australia – while Adelaide sweltered through its hottest December day of 45.3C.
There was no overnight relief from the record-breaking day, with the mercury hovering between 35C and 36C for most of the night, dropping to a low of 33.6C about 10.30pm last night.
It is the highest minimum ever at the Bureau of Meteorology’s West Tce site in the CBD. The previous record recorded was 33.2C in January 1939.
In contrast, the mercury reached just 26.8C at Hindmarsh Island yesterday and 22.6C at Cape Willoughby on Kangaroo Island.
Adelaide is today forecast to reach 46C, which is just 0.6C below the city’s all-time official hottest record set on January 24 this year.
There is relief in sight, with a cool change expected late afternoon, the Bureau of Meteorology said.
“By midnight we should be looking in mid-20 numbers instead of the mid-30s,” the bureau’s Sam Slattery told Radio Adelaide this morning.
As at 9am on Friday the SA Ambulance Service had attended a total of 404 heat-related incidents since Monday, with 259 patients taken to hospital.
These included 16 heat-related incidents so far on Friday, with nine patients requiring transport to hospital, while on Thursday there were 151 heat related incidents, with 91 patients requiring transport to hospital.
CFS deputy chief officer Andrew Stark said a combination of factors was leading to a day of dangerous conditions, with catastrophic fire danger ratings for six regions.
“If fires break out in these conditions, they will be dangerous and they will be fast-moving,” Mr Stark said.
“They are the kinds of conditions which are dangerous for our firefighters and could see properties and sometimes lives lost.
“If we have widespread lightning, there will be more fires than our aircraft can handle.
“From the northeast corner of the state right through to the South-East, we could see thousands of lightning strikes.”
Mr Stark said winds would gust up to 50km/h ahead of the cool change, which was expected to reach Adelaide.
“We will see a very gusty wind change and people might start to see relief,” he said. “Any fires already burning will be very dangerous for hours after the change.
“Under these kinds of conditions, we will often see our aircraft grounded because of the strong winds and raised dust. Places like the Mt Lofty Ranges, from the north to southern tip, as well Kangaroo Island, by its very nature, will be exposed and the South-East will be subjected to some very significant fire danger.”
SA Power Networks spokesman Paul Roberts said people living in high bushfire risk areas needed to prepare for the possibility that power may be switched off today.
But he said a power outage was more likely to be caused by infrastructure damage caused by a bushfire or a tree falling.
The community is warned to keep an eye out on the SA Power Networks outage page for more information.
Homeless shelters are staying open longer as part of the government’s Code Red alert to keep the vulnerable, including rough sleepers, safe.
Mike Francis from the Hutt St Centre said there were a “couple of hundred people” seeking an escape from the heat but the vast majority were regular visitors known to staff.
“Our day centre normally opens from 7am to 1pm but we are staying open until 5pm to get through the worst heat of the day,” he said.
“People are definitely staying in longer in the airconditioning and we are handing out water bottles, food and putting on things like movies.”
Yesterday, the scorching weather forced the cancellation of tram services between the Entertainment Centre and Glenelg and placed pressure on the health system.
By 4pm, the total number of patients treated by paramedics for heatwave-related issues reached 294, with 166 requiring hospital treatment. SA Health chief executive Dr Chris McGowan said high demand on hospitals and ambulances was set to continue for several days. He said non-urgent surgery and outpatient appointments scheduled for today would be postponed and standby beds would be opened.
An extreme heatwave warning has been issued for nine districts around the state for today.
The Environment Department ordered all parks in catastrophic areas be closed.
The Education Department yesterday confirmed that all vacation care, long-day care and childcare services in catastrophic areas would also be closed today. Electricity supply was stretched, with wholesale spot prices jumping from $115/MWh at 6pm to $14,700/MWh at 6.30pm, lasting one hour.
