Hottest night on record for parts of Qld

With storms to the south, cyclones to the north and extreme humidity covering the state, parts of Wide Bay and the Sunshine Coast have sweltered through their hottest night on record at the weekend.

Parts of Wide Bay have sweltered through their hottest night on record. January 28, 2024.

As Queensland experiences “extreme” humidity and wild weather, including flash floods and storms, parts of Wide Bay have sweltered through their hottest night on record and has been followed as the region is placed on flood watch.

Whether you were blasting the air conditioner, turning the fan on full speed, or having to sweat the night out due to power outages – it was no surprise some weather stations throughout the region noted the hottest night in the history of their records, with others creeping dangerously close to the title.

Bundaberg

Parts of Wide Bay have sweltered through their hottest night on record. January 28, 2024.

On Saturday night, the temperature did not fall below 27.2C at Bundaberg airport, beating the highest night low of 27.0C recorded in January 2002, said BOM senior meteorologist Harry Clark.

The dewpoint sat at 28 degrees throughout the night, and Mr Clark said this was “next level” with the regular dewpoint of summer in the region sitting at around 20 degrees.

“Anything over 24 degrees is when it becomes uncomfortable and starts to feel oppressive,” he said.

At midnight, the temperature sat above 28C before dipping down to 27.2C and climbing back up to 30C with the morning sun.

The heat followed Saturday’s midday high of 33C and only steadily declined five degrees throughout the day and night to finally fall just towards the low of 27.2C in the early hours of Sunday.

Gympie

Parts of Wide Bay have sweltered through their hottest night on record. January 28, 2024.

Gympie also recorded its highest night time temperature of 27.2C, beating 46 years of records and the 27.0C also recorded in January 2002, said Mr Clark.

At midnight, the temperature sat above 28C before dipping down to 27.2C and climbing back up to 30C with the morning sun.

The heat followed Saturday’s midday high of 35C and only steadily declined seven degrees throughout the day and into the night, before it finally fell just under 28C in the early hours of Sunday.

In Gympie the dew point was a little more comfortable than Bundaberg, at 26 degrees, but still at “deep tropical levels you would normally see in Darwin”, said Mr Clark.

Tewantin

Parts of Wide Bay have sweltered through their hottest night on record. January 28, 2024.

Tewantin recorded a minimum temperature of 27.0C with the last record sitting at 26.3C from 1987.

The dew point for the evening sat at around 26 degrees.

Hervey Bay

Parts of Wide Bay have sweltered through their hottest night on record. January 28, 2024.

At Hervey Bay, the weather station recorded a temperature of 29C at midnight, only just dipping below 28C in the early morning for an hour or so and rising again into the 30s with the sun.

The heat followed Saturday’s midday high of 33C and only steadily declined five degrees throughout the day and night to finally fall just under 28 in the early hours of Sunday.

Throughout the night, the dewpoint hovered around 26 degrees.

Maryborough

Maryborough recorded a minimum temperature of 26.8C, but did not break its 27.7C record from 1983.

Know your weather, know your risk.

At 3pm on Sunday, BOM released a flood watch for a number of catchments including the Mary and Burnett Rivers, with moderate to heavy rainfall likely to come within the next few days.

Residents along creeks and rivers are warned to be aware of localised flash flooding, with the possibility of minor to major flooding from Tuesday.

Mr Clark said the cloud cover over the state right now effectively acts like a “blanket” trapping the hot air inside and contributing to the humidity reaching “next level”.

It comes as the south east of the state is battered by heavy rainfall with totals in excess of 230mm recorded in some places while areas further north sweltered through their hottest night on record with overnight minimum records smashed.

More wild weather could be on the way, with meteorologists keeping a close eye on the potential for a coastal trough to form that could bring further heavy rainfall early this week.