Weather: NSW breaks November record as Sydney swelters in heatwave
Temperatures in NSW have broken November records as Sydney sweltered through 40 degree heat on Saturday. But there won’t be much cool relief ahead of a hot Sunday.
NSW
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It was so hot people didn’t go to the beach.
As NSW broke its record for the hottest recorded November day, fears the city’s beaches would be overwhelmed and forced to close because of COVID-19 restrictions didn’t happen.
Because it was just too damned hot.
“The heat is so extreme, there are fewer people at Bondi than you would expect on a typical Saturday,” local Lance Kalish, 43, said.
The state November temperature record was broken at 4.35pm on Saturday when the thermometer at Smithville in northwestern NSW recorded 46.9C. It broke the record of 46.8C set at Wanaaring Post Office in 2009.
Five towns across NSW, and the Sydney suburb of Olympic Park, which hit 41.5C, broke their records for their hottest November day, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
The hottest place in Sydney on Saturday was Sydney Airport, which reached 43C.
Observatory Hill, the official weather station for Sydney, reached 40.8C, just a degree shy of its November record.
And the searing heat will continue on Sunday, with Sydney forecast to climb again to 40C.
If it does get up to 40C it will be only the second time since records began that Sydney has had consecutive 40C days in November. The last time was 80 years ago.
Eastern suburbs and harbour beaches remained open all day, despite council concerns they would reach COVID capacity around lunchtime.
Surf Lifesaving NSW had drones above the northern beaches from Manly to Mona Vale keeping an eye on crowd numbers, but drones on standby for eastern suburbs beaches were not deployed.
North Bondi mum Danielle Gavshon and her daughter Amelie, two, were among the thousands who did brave Bondi.
“It was borderline too hot to be out in the sun but it was just beautiful in the water,” she said.
Sydney guzzled a predicted two gigalitres of water on Saturday, the equivalent of 800 Olympic-sized swimming pools and the most so far in 2020, according to Sydney Water.
Ausgrid had also recorded a load on its Sydney network 59 per cent higher than the same time last week by 3pm Saturday.
A feature of Saturday’s heat was that it woudn’t go away. By 5.30pm it was still 39C to 40C in many suburbs.
And it wasn’t going to get any better overnight.
The city was forecast to get down to a minimum temperature of just 25C.
Most walking tracks and trails in national parks across Sydney were expected to be closed from midnight due to Sunday’s predicted extreme heat and the enforcement of a total fire ban.
Relief is not expected to come until about 3pm on Sunday, when a southerly change will sweep in and drop temperatures by about 10C in an hour.
It is expected to be a far more pleasant 17C on Sunday night.
The records temperatures were driven by stinking hot west to northwesterly winds blowing in extremely hot air from Australia’s interior.
TOP SYDNEY TEMPS
Sydney Airport 43.0 at 2.54pm
Bankstown 41.9 at 3.07pm
Holsworthy 41.8 at 2.38pm
Penrith 41.5 at 2.04pm
Sydney Olympic Park 41.5 at 3.09pm
Observatory Hill 40.8 at 3.02pm
Canterbury 40.7 at 3.14pm
Camden 40.7 at 2.29pm
Horsley Park 40.5 3at .03pm
Sydney Harbour 39.9 at 2.59pm
TOP NSW TEMPS
Smithville 46.7 at 3.55pm
Mildura 45.7 at 2.53pm
Wilcannia 46 at 3.57pm
Mulurulu 45.1 at 2.25pm
Fowlers Gap 45.7 at 3.58pm
Hay 45.5 at 1.46pm
Swan Hill 44.7 at 3.07pm
Ivanhoe Airport 45.4 at 3.52pm
Broken Hill 44.5 at 3.15pm
Tibooburra Airport 45.3 at 3.11pm
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