Qld weather: Near-record temperatures predicted with mercury to hit 37C

Temperatures will climb towards 40C in parts of southern Queensland this week, threatening spring weather records and fanning already dire fire conditions.

Queenslanders are bracing for near-record spring temperatures and increased fire dangers this week, with the Bureau of Meteorology forecasting Thursday will be at least 10 degrees higher than average for most of the state.

Brisbane and Logan will peak at 34 degrees, while Gatton and Ipswich are in for a top of 37 degrees as dry heat descends primarily on South-Eastern and Central parts of the state.

Senior meteorologist Livio Regano said temperatures would steadily rise in the days ahead before a volatile peak on Thursday.

“In some areas it will be up to 10 degrees higher than average, and within a few degrees of breaking records, although it’s important to note we are not expecting any records,” he said.

“We’ve got the passage of a fairly vigorous trough on Thursday, and roughly six to twelve hours ahead of it there’ll be a band of much warmer than average air passing through most of Southern Queensland.”

The midweek burst of extreme heat will be accompanied by heightened fire risks.

The fire threat will continue across Queensland with the mercury expected to climb to near-record temperatures this week. Picture: PETER PARKS / AFP

Extreme fire danger is likely on Thursday for the Channel Country in the state’s southwest, the region currently rating 65 out of 100 on the Bureau’s Fire Danger Ratings.

High fire danger is also possible for the Northern Goldfields and Upper Flinders, Central Highlands and Coalfields, Central West, North West, Maranoa and Warrego, Darling Downs and Granite Belt, Wide Bay and Burnett, and the Southeast Coast.

Queensland Fire and Emergency put out a warning for Emerald in Central Queensland on Monday morning, advising residents to stay indoors to avoid smoke from a fire along Selma Rd.

Fires broke out near Bundaberg, Townsville and the Sunshine Coast over the weekend.

Residents in the regional town of Miles, about 200km west of Toowoomba in Queensland, were warned to prepare to leave their properties after a fire erupted at Ayton Rd on Saturday.

The “fast-moving” fire travelled towards Pine Ridge Rd, prompting authorities to issue the “prepare to leave” warning at 1.38pm on Saturday.

“It’s a hot, dry north-westerly wind which is bad from the point of view that it raises the fire danger ratings,” Mr Regano said.

Thursday’s expected scorcher will also bring cooler mornings for the state despite the near- record peaks.

“It will be very different from summer heat in that we’ll start off with quite cool mornings of around 10 or 11 degrees,” Mr Regano said.

“There will be a really big raise of temperature starting in the morning until the early afternoon when we expect to get our maximum temps.”

Relief will arrive on Friday with regular September conditions resuming despite the expected increase in temperatures throughout the looming El Nino period in the months ahead.

“It will be a fairly vigorous change of about 10 degrees that brings us back to normal, but it won’t be cool afterwards, it will just be normal for September,” Mr Regano said.

“It is a bit earlier than usual to have one this hot, but we are now in an El Nino situation so there are drier than normal conditions accompanying that.”

The Bureau of Meteorology has released a “severe heatwave” warning for the NSW south coast, warning punishing low to mid-30s temperatures will continue until midweek.

“These temperatures are above average by around 10 to 15 degrees and persist for an unusually prolonged period for this time of year,” the bureau states.

The bureau believes the “very uncommon” September heat will likely break records for the most number of days in a row above 30C until a cold front later on Wednesday eases conditions.

The heat is impacting South Australia, Victoria and NSW.