Australia swelters through heatwave, with more high temps to come

The weather bureau is warning that a searing heatwave gripping Australia is likely to worsen.

Horse breakers Anthony and Cassie Jessup with son Shane enjoy the relative cool of the evening on their property near Winton, Queensland. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen

The weather bureau is warning that a searing heatwave gripping Australia is likely to worsen by the end of the week, with towns in northern Victoria and southern NSW tipped to break ­December records.

The weather bureau said preliminar­y results from around the country suggested “extensi­ve” heat on Tuesday had pushed the national average mercur­y past the previous record of 40.3C on January 7, 2013, to 40.9C.

On Wednesday, Adelaide reached a top temperature of 43.7C, with Melbourne hitting 40.1C and Canberra 38.8C. ­Brisbane was on 28.9C and ­Sydney on 26.2C. The hot weather stretched electricity supplies.

However, Sydney is headed for 40C on Thursday, while Adelaide is forecast to reach 44C.

While a cool change will see Melbourne’s top temperature plunge to 23C on Thursday, it is expected to rise again on Friday to 43C, with no relief on Thursday for Victorian towns north of the Great Dividing Range.

BoM senior meteorologist Dean Stewart said the bureau had revised its forecast for Melbourne for Friday up from 41C to 43C.

“So 43 in the city, some suburbs probably even nudging 44 degrees on Friday,” Mr Stewart said.

“Our hottest ever day was back in 1876 in Melbourn­e in December when we had a 43.7 degree day, so not far away from that record.

Preliminary results suggest that the 17th December was Australia's hottest day on record at 40.9 ºC, with the average maximum across the country as a whole, exceeding the previous record of 40.3 ºC on the 7th January 2013. https://t.co/TKwWBuFPgJ pic.twitter.com/xOFpokoXos

— Bureau of Meteorology, Australia (@BOM_au) December 18, 2019

“While Melbourne will be close to that December record, we’re likely to exceed the December records around other parts of the state, including up in the northwest, where we expect the highest temperatures to be with 47 degrees.

“The hottest temperature ­anywhere over the state for Decem­ber in previous years is at Robinvale, they reached 46.6 ­degrees in 1976, so we’re likely to see that record surpassed.”

As another day of scorching temperatures bakes SA an extreme heatwave is taking hold and records are likely to tumble. Relief will come to many areas on Friday as a cool change sweeps across the west and south.
See the latest heatwave forecast at: https://t.co/vxCzv4flUR pic.twitter.com/g5Cp0WrXFQ

— Bureau of Meteorology, South Australia (@BOM_SA) December 17, 2019

On Wednesday, horse breaker Anthony Jessup braved 45C heat near Winton, in central western Queensland.

When his mates ask him how he can tolerate hours in the saddle in the fierce heat, Mr Jessup has a simple answer.

“I tell them, ‘well, it beats fencing’,” he said.

“It’s hot work and there are tough days, but the ­reward you get out of the animals is worth it.”

The Jessups sought the cool ­reprieve of a full water trough and a cold drink as the sun went down on the family’s 300ha property north of ­Winton.

Only 1.2mm of rain has fallen in the region this month, bringing the total rainfall since July to 2.2mm.

The summer scorchers are tough on horse and rider, forcing Mr Jessup to tailor his work to early mornings and late afternoons when the sun’s intensity wanes.

Evenings at home with his family are a treat for Mr Jessup, who spends about six months of the year travelling to cattle ­stations in NSW, Queensland and the Northern Territory to offer his services.

He breaks in about 100 colts a year, some on the road and others at the family property with his wife, Cassie, and their son, Shane.

Mr Jessup said the lead-up to Christmas was a good chance for him to switch off and enjoy some downtime with his family.