SO HOT: Heatwave to smash temperature records across the Darling Downs this week

Temperature records across the Darling Downs are expected to be smashed by a heatwave this week. Here’s how hot it will get.

SEVERE HEAT DAYS: It’s set to be VERY hot this week. Photo: Erin Smith.

Temperatures could smash December records later this week as a severe heatwave continues to melt the Darling Downs.

Bureau of Meteorology meteorologist Pieter Classen said the region was in severe heatwave territory over the next few days.

“The southern parts of the Darling Downs, around the Granite Belt, are getting into extreme heatwave conditions,” he said.

“(Yesterday), the temperatures were around eight to ten degrees above average across the Downs.

“That’s going to intensify into this week.

“Today it’ll be 9 to 11 degrees above average and then by Wednesday it’ll be 12 to 13 degrees above average.”

Mr Classen said some locations across the Granite Belt, like Stanthorpe, and perhaps even Toowoomba could see temperatures break December records.

“Toowoomba’s December record is 38.3 degrees,” he said.

“We’ve forecasting 38 degrees for Wednesday, so it’s close to tipping records even in Toowoomba.”

Mr Classen said the hot weather was being caused by a prolonged northerly wind regime that was “not shifting very quickly”.

“There’s a slow moving trough out to the west of Queensland, which gets more mobile early in the week and moves to the east, but we’re not expecting a big shift from those northerly winds,” he said.

Those winds, Mr Classen said, were bringing hot air from the north down to the region, causing the heatwave.

“The winds won’t tend more south and south easterly until later in the week,” he said.

“But that’s a short turn before they move back to the north east by the end of next week. It’ll be a limited respite before things heat up again at the end of the week.”