SA to swelter through week-long heatwave

“Tornado-like” winds downed heat-stressed trees overnight, while hundreds of people sweated through a scorching night without power, as a week-long heatwave grips the state.

Smoke from Victoria passes over Adelaide CBD on Sunday. Picture: Ben Clark

The SES has been called to dozens of properties after hot, strong winds felled heat-stressed trees as a low-to-severe intensity heatwave grips the state for the week.

Several trees fell on powerlines, as well as cars and homes across the state, including in Rostrevor, Morialta, Kensington Gardens, Stonyfell and Magill in Adelaide’s east as gully winds whipped up overnight.

A caller from Rostrevor told FIVEAA’s morning radio show on Monday “tornado-like winds” damaged his property on Sunday night.

“Last night, around about 11 o’clock, just about to go to sleep, an almighty tornado came down through Morialta and decided to snap off a rather large branch off the gum tree in the backyard,” he said.

“(The tree) cleaned up a couple of my ornamental pear trees and smashed onto the roof of the granny flat.

“I walked into Morialta and sure enough an even larger tree had come down to the Morialta Rd entrance to the park.”

At one point during Sunday evening, about 1500 were without power but by 8am that number had fallen to about 400.

In Adelaide, the mercury didn’t fall below 23C as it mainly hovered around the high 20s. The city is in for a sizzling high of 41C with the chance of more smoke haze drifting over from the Victorian bushfires.

The blazing weather will continue all week with Adelaide set for a string of 30s, hitting 37C on Tuesday then down to 32C on Wednesday.

The temperature will creep back up to 34C on Thursday before dropping down to 31C on Friday and 32C on Saturday, then back to 38C on Sunday.

“We are expecting mild conditions to return behind that change on Tuesday and that will see the end of those particularly hot nights and hot days but still remaining in the 30s for Adelaide,” Ms Colhoun said.

Smoke from Victoria passes over the Adelaide CBD on Sunday. Picture: Ben Clark

As well as extreme heat, parts of the state are also bracing for thunderstorms on Monday.

In the state’s Far North, residents in Roxby Downs, Woomera and Leigh Creek will not only be battling 42C, 41C and 39C respectively, but also a possible afternoon storm.

Possible storms are also on the cards for Hawker, Yunta, Orroroo, Waikerie, Renmark, Karoonda, Lameroo, Keith, Bordertown.

Hannah Colhoun from the Bureau of Meteorology said the chance of a storm was due to a trough in the state’s northeast.

“As we extend into tomorrow that risk extends westwards to include parts of Eyre Peninsula,” the metrologist said.

“There is still the risk of seeing some thunderstorms around on Tuesday and then that contracts up to the north east for Wednesday.”

One way South Aussies found to cool off on Sunday was to take part in the Marilyn Jetty Swim.

Dover Gardens local Wendy Price, 43, took part in the charity event, which raises funds for people impacted by cancer, and looked forward to going down to the beach later in the week.

It was Ms Price’s first time at the Marilyn Jetty Swim. Picture: Ben Clark

“We usually head down to the beach around sunset when it cools down a bit,” she said.

“Its nice to walk along the beach in the water otherwise we’ll just stay inside in the airconditioning.”

While she’s not a keen ocean swimmer, Ms Price said the water at Brighton was nice and cool on Sunday.

“We lost a friend a year and a half ago and her husband did it last year so I thought I would get on board,” she said.

“It was pretty cold when you first hit (the water) but once we got wet it was actually very refreshing.

“It was good, it was my first time so it was amazing to see so many people get behind it.”

It comes after South Aussies woke to the smell of bushfire smoke drifting over parts of Adelaide from western Victoria over the weekend, including Ms Price.

“It was really bad on Saturday morning, I could smell it in the house,” she said.

SA recorded its driest January in six years last month with only 4.2mm of rain recorded, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

The CFS encouraged all South Australians to be mindful of bushfire risk following several small fires this past week.

“We encourage the community to remain vigilant, check the fire danger ratings daily and make sure your plans are in place if a bushfire starts,” a spokesperson said.

Originally published as SA to swelter through week-long heatwave