Severe heatwave could be a Gympie record breaker

Temperatures set to hit 37 degrees on Saturday before a sweltering 40 degrees on Sunday and Monday.

Gympie will experience a severe heatwave on the weekend. Picture: Contributed

WE'VE all been dreading Sunday's scorching prediction of 40 degrees, but the Bureau of Meteorology says it won't stop there with Monday in equally hot pursuit.

A severe and sticky heatwave is headed our way, with temperatures set to hit 37 degrees on Saturday before a sweltering 40 degrees on Sunday and Monday- 10 degrees above the average Gympie temperatures for this time of year.

It could even be a February record-breaker in Gympie with only a half degree away from the 40.5 degree record set 48 years ago in February 1969.

BoM forecaster Lauren Pattie said the intense heat, partly caused by a high pressure system in the west, will ease early next week from the wicked weekend temperatures but top temperatures will still remain in the low to mid 30s.

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

With a high dew point of between 15 to 20 this week alongside explosive temperatures the forecaster is warning it will be a sticky heat to suffer through.

Today's top temperature of 32 degrees is the coolest it will be in the next week.

Rain last night and today in the Gympie region, while only delivering between three and seven millimetres to areas across the region, was enough to provide some relief form the already hot days.

Gympie summer records:

• December 26, 2001: 42 degrees
• January 4, 2014: 42.4 degrees
• February, 1969: 40.5 degrees