A severe early summer heatwave across New South Wales is bringing the hottest weather since 2020 to many parts of the state.
Western regions on Friday suffered through maximums well above 40 degrees Celsius for the fourth consecutive day, while areas just inland from the coast, including Western Sydney hit the high 30s.
Several locations in western NSW soared beyond 40C and the hottest recorded location in the state was 43.2C at Smithville, near the South Australia border.
The state's highest maximum so far this week was also at Smithville where it hit a sweltering 46.4C on Thursday, the hottest official air temperature anywhere in NSW for three years.
Penrith, Badgerys Creek and Richmond passed 38C while Sydney Olympic Park tipped 37C. Sydney Airport hit 34.3 shortly after 11am.
Coastal NSW has so far escaped the most intense heat, however, a change in the wind direction to a north-westerly will carry the blazing hot air mass further east on Saturday.
This will cause daily highs to soar up to 15C above average for December around Sydney tomorrow, climbing well above 40C for inland suburbs and 39C in the city, the hottest temperatures in nearly four years.
Many parts of regional NSW can also expect to sweat through the warmest weather in years on Saturday including.
Nineteen schools across western NSW — around Griffith, Leeton, Narrandera and surrounding areas — have been closed due to the extreme fire danger today.
Heatwave and fire warnings
The prolonged spell of well above average temperatures has triggered a heatwave warning for nearly the entire state apart from the far north-east corner.
That heatwave is rated as severe for most regions, an indication of unusually high minimum and maximum temperatures, which can be dangerous for susceptible people, including the elderly, young and unwell.
A few pockets of central NSW are even under a rare extreme heatwave warning which is considered potentially dangerous for everyone.
The combination of high temperatures, low humidity, and freshening winds has also triggered total fire bans and extreme fire danger for some western districts on Friday.
Despite the recent rain, extreme fire danger should extend to Greater Sydney on Saturday.
How long will the heat stay?
A southerly change should reach Sydney late Saturday and bring milder weather to the state's coast from Sunday.
While the east enjoys slight relief, areas west of the ranges are forecast for a continuation of maximums near 40C well into next week.
As a result, severe heatwave conditions for inland NSW could last until Wednesday with daily maximums remaining near 40C.
The hot start to summer is symptomatic of El Niño, and the latest seasonal forecasts for NSW indicate summer temperatures are likely to remain consistently well above average.
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