January- Gympie's hottest January days in 15 years: BoM

Temperatures will soar- peaking at 37 degrees tomorrow

Picture: Contributed

THE numbers are in and they've confirmed what we all knew - January was a stinker.

To be precise, Gympie had its hottest January days in 15 years with an average maximum of 32.9 degrees, just shy of the 2002 record of 33 degrees, while Double Island Point recorded its hottest January ever.

The average temperature at Double Island Point last month was 30.8 degrees during the day and 23.9 at night- this just topped the 1998 January average record of 30.6 and 23.5 degrees.

"That's an example of how hot it's been,” Bureau of Meteorology forecaster James Thompson said.

He said two or three periods of stable conditions in January that saw us all suffering through heat waves, allowed the heat to build up through southern Queensland.

And the start of February is not looking any cooler.

Gympie's seven-day forecast, courtesy of Weatherzone. Picture: Contributed

We are set for a week of top day time temperatures in the mid to high thirties - causing a low intensity heat wave.

With days consistently soaring five or more degrees, above average, the only thing stopping them being a repeat of January's horrid conditions is the reprieve at night.

"There will be relief overnight from heat stress on the body,” Mr Thompson said.

"It's more dangerous to the body to not be able to sleep due to the heat.”

The long term outlook for the region also shows a 60% chance of it being hotter than average until April.