Prosper in a dynamic world
Search

Searing hot SA

 

Temperatures will soar across SA on Tuesday, with temperatures expected to reach the mid to high 40’s in some areas.  

This heat is being driven by an extremely hot airmass ahead of a low-pressure trough near the state on Tuesday.  

The day began hot for many SA towns, with the mercury at Oodnadatta hitting 35.9°C at 7:42am ACDT on Tuesday morning. 

Adelaide also sweltered through a warm night with the lowest temperature of 24.6°C recorded at 6:43am. The warm morning has given the temperature a healthy head start across much of SA, with Adelaide already over 30°C at 9am. 

The temperature is set to climb to around 41°C in Adelaide, while some areas will see temperatures climb into the mid to high 40’s. 

Image: Maximum temperature forecast on Tuesday, January 23, according to the ECMWF model 

These maximum temperatures along with very warm minimum temperatures are creating severe heatwave conditions across northern SA. Extreme heatwave conditions are forecast in the Northwest Pastoral district.   

The map below shows the heatwave severity for three days starting Tuesday, January 23. 

Image: Heatwave severity for the three days starting Tuesday, January 23 

Thunderstorms and showers are forecast to develop along the low-pressure trough in the north and west on Tuesday afternoon and evening. The cloud associated with the trough and storms should trap the heat in overnight across northern parts of SA.  

For those in Adelaide, a weak southerly change is forecast to move through the city between 4-6pm ACST, which will unfortunately provide little relief to the sweltering city. 

This means that the temperature in Adelaide should remain above 35°C until around 8-9pm ACST, before the temperature finally drops below 30°C between 10:30-11:30pm ACST. 

The red line in the map below shows Adelaide’s temperature forecast in the next 24 hours.

Image: Temperature (red line) and dewpoint (blue) and confidence interval spread (red shade temperature, blue shade dewpoint) for Adelaide in ACST. 

The chart shows that the minimum temperature in Adelaide early Wednesday morning will fail to drop below 23°C.  

The maximum temperature on Wednesday will be around 10°C cooler than Tuesday, with a top of 31°C forecast.  

While Adelaide is slightly cooler on Wednesday, northern parts of SA will remain in the mid to high 40’s until later this week. For more information, please contact us at apac.sales@dtn.com. 

Latest news

Satisfy your weather obsession with these news headlines from around the nation, and the world.

Rapid El Niño signal accelerating risk for Australian businesses

El Niño–favourable conditions are gathering pace across the tropical Pacific, with key ocean indicators approaching threshold levels and early atmospheric responses emerging.  While uncertainty remains around final El Niño strength, historical analogues show that even weak events can generate widespread impacts, including reduced rainfall, warmer daytime temperatures, increased frost risk, elevated fire danger, reduced tropical cyclone activity, and more. Industries including […]

Australia’s 2025–26 Cyclone Season: Slightly Above Average, Dominated by Severe Systems

Australia has just experienced a highly impactful tropical cyclone season, with more than 60% of systems reaching severe intensity, causing widespread disruption and damage to communities and multiple industries across northern Australia.  The 2025–26 Australian tropical cyclone season officially ran from 1 November 2025 to 30 April 2026. During this six-month period, Australia saw 11 tropical cyclones, with nine […]

What does a ‘super El Niño’ mean for Australia’s businesses?

There are signs that a very strong, or ‘super’ El Niño could develop in the tropical Pacific Ocean later this year. So, what does this mean for Australia’s weather during the second half of 2026? El Niño on the horizon The tropical Pacific Ocean is currently in a neutral state, meaning neither El Niño nor […]

How does DTN help businesses monitor bushfire induced pyrocumulonimbus thunderstorms that ignite more fires?

Intense heat from bushfires during elevated fire danger days can trigger fire-induced pyrocumulonimbus thunderstorms that ignite additional fires. In early January 2026, an extreme heatwave sweeping over southeastern Australia brought catastrophic fire danger to Victoria. Intensely hot bush and grass fires spread erratically and quickly in hot, dry and gusty winds, with pyrocumulonimbus generating lightning, […]