Victoria is in for some hot days fuelling bushfire concerns
Victoria will be blasted by a heatwave before storms set in on the weekend, but the rain will largely be in Melbourne and offer little help to fire crews in bushfire-ravaged areas.
VIC News
Don't miss out on the headlines from VIC News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Melbourne received some milder temperatures over the weekend after a brief spike on Wednesday, but that heat is set to return.
The city is in for 28C on Wednesday before rising to 37C on Thursday, then spiking to a “humid and uncomfortable” 41C on Friday, according to Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Richard Carlyon.
That will change on Saturday as a cool change arrives, with Melbourne forecast to receive between 10-20mm of rain as thunderstorms set in.
Emergency Management Commissioner, Andrew Crisp gives an update on what's been happening across the state over the last week and the weather conditions that are coming. #vicfires pic.twitter.com/dO5ngcVGEt
— VicEmergency (@vicemergency) January 28, 2020
In the northeast of the state, bushfire conditions could worsen with temperatures forecast to sit in the high 30s before hitting 40C on Thursday and 44C on Friday.
The northeast will not see as much rainfall as Melbourne, but will get more than bushfire ravaged East Gippsland, who are also in for high temperatures this week.
Bairnsdale is predicted to reach 37C on Thursday and 41C on Friday while Mallacoota will sit in the mid to low 30s for the bulk of the week.
Mr Carlyon said the weekend’s storm activity would be more isolated in the East Gippsland region so would not have a “significant impact” on the several fires still burning there.
The weekend’s storms will also see the wind pick up, elevating fire danger.
A State Emergency Services spokesperson said there were currently 10 fires burning across the state with over 1200 firefighters on the ground battling the blazes and 30 aircraft in use.
Backburning operations are planned to go ahead over the coming days in East Gippsland ahead Friday, which could be a total fire ban day across Victoria.
The backburning is likely to increase smoke in the surrounding areas of Orbost, Bemm River and Mallacoota, however these holiday towns are open for business and visitors are greatly encouraged to take a trip to these areas.
Victoria’s Chief Health Officer, Dr Brett Sutton today issued a warning for the coming days for people to stay hydrated and indoors with cooling if possible, particularly pregnant women, people with a pre-existing medical condition, people aged over 65 and children and babies who are most at risk.
The warning also stressed the importance of not leaving children or pets in cars.
The heatwave comes after a whirlwind few days of weather last week, which started with hailstones the size of tennis balls damaging cars across the city on Sunday and just a few days later on Wednesday, the city was hit with a deluge of dirty rain caused by a dust storm that travelled through South Australia, New South Wales and Victoria.
MORE NEWS
SCHOOLS LASHED FOR CORONAVIRUS ISOLATION
The downpour caused public pools to close and the EPA to issue a warning against swimming in most Melbourne beaches.
The large amount of dirty rain and dust saw the Yarra River turn an unusual murky brown colour, which many social media users posted about throughout the day.