Blue skies and sunscreen or lunch inside? The Christmas Day forecast is in
By Angus Dalton
Prepare to unfold the outdoor trestle tables and serve up the sunscreen.
Sydneysiders will be gifted a glorious summer day this year for Christmas, with a top of 28 degrees forecast for the city on December 25 and a high-pressure system keeping the chance of rain low.
Sydneysiders enjoy perfect summer weather at Bronte Beach on Monday.Credit: Steven Siewert
Light easterly winds of 15 to 25km/h and a smattering of clearing clouds will accompany the tearing of wrapping paper and the cracking of prawn shells on the big day, according to the Bureau of Meteorology’s forecast released on Wednesday afternoon.
There’s a slight possibility of a morning shower or two on NSW’s coast, but the overall chance of rain stands at 10 per cent and the day should stay mostly warm and dry across the state.
The weather will be sunny on Christmas Eve, with highs of 25 degrees.
The promised weather is in sharp contrast to last year, when a storm cell smashed Sydney on Christmas Eve, flooding streets in Bondi and leaving 20 drivers needing rescue by the State Emergency Service.
Christmas at Clovelly Beach last year.Credit: Flavio Brancaleone
At least 24 flights were cancelled and a Virgin plane flying from Sydney to Melbourne was struck by lightning.
Beyond the festive season, the bureau expects a sweltering, steamy summer with above-average daytime heat and stewing summer nights.
Most of Australia, including Sydney, has an 80 per cent chance of exceeding median maximum temperatures for the rest of the year, and the trend will continue until at least March.
Sea surface temperatures off Australia’s coast were the highest on record for November, which will continue to influence our weather as warm seas pump extra moisture into the atmosphere, boosting likelihood of rainfall.
Some cloud and wind patterns in the Pacific have recently hinted towards the onset of a rain-summoning La Nina weather cycle, but the bureau expects the El Nino-Southern Oscillation to remain neutral until at least April.
Most of Australia has an 80 per cent chance of hot, above-average temperatures throughout summer.Credit: Bureau of Meteorology
Sydney’s west had its hottest day in 12 months on Tuesday with a 41.6-degree scorcher in Penrith.
Urban planning expert Professor Sebastian Pfautsch, who is researching the impact of extreme heat on playgrounds, measured the heat of gym equipment in Parramatta’s afternoon heat this week and found it was 98 degrees – hot enough to burn a child’s hand.
Western Sydney could face 100 to 160 days above 35 degrees each summer by 2060, Pfautsch predicts in a new paper published in the journal Weather and Climate Extremes.
A cool change rolls in with the southerly buster on Tuesday.Credit: Nick Moir
Australia’s climate has warmed by an average of 1.47 degrees since national records began in 1910, according to the bureau.
Thousands in NSW were left without power on Tuesday after a scorching day and a boisterous southerly buster, which reached at least 74km/h and summoned a spectacular “roll cloud” over Sydney’s coast.
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