Prosper in a dynamic world
Search

Another burst of heat looming for southeastern Australia

The first week of summer is set to arrive with a bang, with hot and humid conditions expected for at least five states and territories next week.  

A blocking high pressure system in the Tasman Sea will direct hot northerly winds across southeastern Australia for much of next week.  

This slow pattern will allow heat to build over the region for several days with heatwave conditions forecast for parts of SA, Vic, Tas, the ACT, NSW and Qld from Monday, December 2. Severe heatwave conditions are again forecast for parts of NSW next week, with temperatures forecast to soar across the state.  

Image: Heatwave severity forecast for the three days beginning on Monday, December 2. Source: BOM

There are early signs that western Sydney could endure temperatures in the 30s for the first week of summer, meanwhile the east is forecast to see temperatures remaining in the high 20s to low 30s. 

Adelaide and Melbourne both will reach the low 30s on Monday, December 2, with Melbourne possibly seeing a second day of low 30s on Tuesday before a cold front and northwest cloud band cool the region down. This change will be relatively shallow, and temperatures will bounce back quickly mid to late next week.  

The second round of heat will pack a punch, with temperatures soaring into the 40s across parts of SA on Thursday and Friday.

 

Image: Maximum temperature forecast for Thursday, December 3, according to ECMWF 

At this stage Adelaide is forecast to reach 37°C on Thursday, with Melbourne forecast to top at 32°C.  

Tropical moisture will also feed into southeastern Australia next week, bringing uncomfortably humid conditions to the region along with the heat. The sticky conditions could make the temperature feel 3 to 5 degrees hotter than the actual temperature.  

The hot and humid conditions will be combined with uncomfortably warm nights across southeastern Australia as tropical moisture feeds into the region.  

Sydney will fail to see temperatures drop below 20°C in the next week, while Brisbane’s minimum is forecast to be around 22 to 23°C. 

The warm nights will make it hard for people to sleep and recover from the days’ oppressive heat, so be sure to keep cool.  

DTN APAC supplies precise weather intelligence to over 75% of the National Energy Market (NEM); and is the trusted provider for the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO).

Weatherzone’s next-generation nowcasting and forecasting system, OpticastTM, is independently proven to outperform other industry models, allowing energy traders to respond rapidly to changing conditions. From 14 day forecasting to seasonal outlooks, you have access to complete and powerful weather intelligence giving you the confidence to make the best call.

Meeting the needs of the changing market, Weatherzone utilises high-resolution modelling and local knowledge to provide 5-min granularity observations and forecasts, optimising your market bidding and maximising your profits. These, coupled with briefings from our energy meteorologists, give you full awareness of the associated risk.

Benefit from specialised indices such as apparent temperature, Cooling/Heating Degree Days (CDD/HDD) and Effective Degree Days (EDD) to help accurately predict demand. You can get a clear picture of forecast conditions across the market and quickly assess heat/heatwave potential from 14 days out to 12 months

No matter where your energy trading focus lies, we have the power generation and weather insights to inform your critical decisions, keeping you ahead of the curve. For more information please visit our website or email us at sales.apac@dtn.com.

 

Latest news

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

Long weekend rain and storms to impact Victoria and NSW

An outbreak of heavy rain and severe thunderstorms will impact Victoria and NSW over the coming long weekend. As seen in the synoptic image below, this outbreak of storms and wet weather will be caused by a broad low pressure trough and cold front. Image: Synoptic image for Friday, 25 April. As the weekend goes […]

Intense heatwave over northern India pressures people and the energy grid

A heatwave scorching northern India over at least the next seven days will place a tremendous strain on people and infrastructure. The images below show the concerning heating pattern taking hold of India’s north as the week progresses. Maximum temperatures are shown reaching the low to mid 40s on Wednesday, April 23 (top image), the […]

Adelaide’s driest start to the year since the 1980s

Halfway through autumn, Adelaide continues to endure an early-year dry spell the likes of which it has not seen since the famously barren decade of the 1980s. Just 14.4mm of rain has been recorded at the city’s main weather station from January 1 to April 15, 2025. That makes it the South Australian capital’s 4th-driest […]

Tropical Cyclone Errol strengthening near Australia – here’s what to expect

Tropical Cyclone Errol, which formed on Tuesday night, is quickly gaining strength to the north of WA and could turn towards the Kimberley coast later this week. At 8am AWST on Wednesday, Errol was a category two tropical cyclone located roughly 515 km to the north northwest of Broome. The system is moving west and […]