Aussies have been told to brace for catastrophic fire dangers and what could be the hottest Boxing Day Test on record this Christmas amid scorching temperatures sweeping across the country.
South Australia and Victoria are set to be hit hardest by an oncoming heatwave which is likely to peak on Boxing Day just in time for day one of the cricket in Melbourne.
Sweltering hot conditions are expected over Christmas across the country, while thunderstorms are possible for parts of Queensland and the Northern Territory.
Melbourne is expected to hit a top of 40C on Thursday, while Adelaide will see temperatures climb to 37C and 36C over Christmas and Boxing Day.
Sydneysiders can expect a warm and dry Christmas and Boxing Day, but temperatures are set to soar to a sweaty 38C on Friday.
Southern parts of country like Victoria will be hit with dry and windy conditions, with locals put on alert for bushfires.
Christie Johnson from the Bureau of Meteorology told Daily Mail Australia the heat will move east from Western Australia on Monday, with Perth seeing tops of 41C for the start of the festive period.
‘Christmas day will be the hottest in South Australia, and Boxing Day will be the hottest in Victoria and Tasmania,’ she said.
South Australia and Victoria are set to be hit hardest by an oncoming heatwave which is likely to peak on Boxing Day just in time for day one of the cricket in Melbourne
Sweltering hot conditions are expected over Christmas across the country, while thunderstorms are possible for parts of Queensland and the Northern Territory
Ms Johnson warned the fire dangers in Victoria could extend into NSW on Friday.
‘In Victoria, we’re forecasting catastrophic fire danger in the Gariwerd District which encompasses the Grampians where the ongoing large fire is, and also extreme fire danger across all the other western and central districts of the state,’ she said.
‘So there’s going to be some very significant fire-risk days ahead.’
Rain is expected to fall later on Thursday night in Melbourne.
‘At the moment our forecast for Melbourne for Boxing Day is 40C which could potentially be the hottest first day of the Boxing Day Test on record,’ Ms Johnson said.
‘The good news is that most of the modelling suggests any rain should stay away until after the end of play for the cricket so it’s more likely to be an evening or overnight showers coming through behind that change.’
Fire dangers in the state, however, are serious after an out-of-control bushfire in Victoria’s Grampians National Park tripled in size in just 24 hours over the weekend.
The blaze has destroyed 34,000 hectares and is still growing despite more than 300 firefighters battling to bring it to heel before Boxing Day’s extreme conditions.
Emergency warnings are in place for those in tourist hotspot Halls Gap and surrounding areas to leave immediately.
In other parts of the country a high pressure system is pushing into south eastern Australia, which is going to mean fairly settled conditions for much of the country.
An out-of-control fire in Victoria’s Grampians National Park tripled in size over the weekend and firefighters are desperately trying to get it under control before Boxing Day
Showers will ease in Tasmania as the weather system gets closer but the Cape York Peninsula in Queensland will likely see rain continue throughout the week.
The Top End is also likely to experience thunderstorms while southern parts of the Northern Territory, as well in as south Queensland and New South Wales, will be dry and settled going into the week.
Brisbane
Monday
Sunny morning. The chance of a thunderstorm in the west during this afternoon and evening. Light winds becoming north to northeasterly 15 to 20 km/h in the early afternoon then becoming light in the late evening.
Max 32C
Tuesday
Sunny. Light winds becoming southeasterly 20 to 30 km/h in the middle of the day then becoming light in the late evening.
Min 22C Max 32C.
Wednesday
Mostly sunny. Winds southerly 15 to 25 km/h turning east to southeasterly during the morning then becoming light during the evening.
Min 20C Max 30C
Thursday
Mostly sunny. Light winds becoming east to northeasterly 15 to 20 km/h during the day then becoming light during the evening.
Min 19C Max 30C
Extreme heat will take grip around the east and south coasts of the country as a high pressure weather system works its way across from Western Australia
Sydney
Monday
Mostly sunny. Slight chance of a shower along the coastal fringe in the early afternoon. Near zero chance of rain elsewhere. Winds west to southwesterly 25 to 35 km/h shifting southerly 30 to 40 km/h in the early afternoon before tending south to southeasterly 15 to 20 km/h in the late afternoon. Winds reaching up to 50 km/h along the coastal fringe with the southerly change during the afternoon.
Max 29C
Tuesday
Sunny. Light winds becoming southwesterly 15 to 20 km/h early in the morning then tending southeast to southwesterly 15 to 25 km/h in the morning.
Min 16C Max 24C
Wednesday
Sunny. Light winds becoming easterly 15 to 25 km/h during the day then becoming light during the evening.
Min 17C Max 26C
Thursday
Sunny. Light winds becoming northeasterly 20 to 30 km/h during the day.
Min 18C Max 28C
Canberra
Monday
Partly cloudy. Slight chance of a shower in the morning and early afternoon. Winds westerly 25 to 35 km/h.
Max 23C
Tuesday
Sunny. Light winds.
Min 6C Max 27C
Wednesday
Sunny. Light winds becoming northwest to northeasterly 15 to 20 km/h during the afternoon then tending northeast to southeasterly during the evening.
Min 8C Max 31C
Thursday
Sunny. Light winds becoming north to northwesterly 15 to 25 km/h during the day.
Min 11C Max 35C
More than 300 firefighters are actively fighting the blaze in the Grampians in an attempt to contain it before extreme fire danger warnings are delivered later in the week
Melbourne
Monday
Cloudy. High chance of showers about the Dandenongs, medium chance elsewhere. Winds southwesterly 30 to 45 km/h.
Max 18C
Tuesday
Cloudy. Medium chance of showers in the morning and early afternoon. Winds southwesterly 15 to 25 km/h turning southerly in the early afternoon.
Min 13C Max 22C
Wednesday
Mostly sunny. The chance of morning fog about the nearby hills. Light winds becoming southeasterly 15 to 20 km/h during the afternoon then becoming light during the evening.
Min 14C Max 30C
Thursday
Sunny day. Slight chance of a shower in the evening. Winds north to northeasterly 20 to 30 km/h increasing to 45 km/h before shifting westerly 15 to 25 km/h during the evening.
Min 21C Max 40C
Hobart
Monday
Partly cloudy. Medium chance of showers, becoming less likely this evening. Winds southwesterly 15 to 25 km/h turning westerly 15 to 20 km/h in the late evening.
Max 17C
Tuesday
Mostly cloudy. Slight chance of a shower. Winds west to southwesterly 15 to 25 km/h becoming light in the late evening.
Min 11C Max 21C
Wednesday
Partly cloudy. Slight chance of a shower. Light winds becoming west to southwesterly 15 to 20 km/h during the day then shifting southeasterly during the evening.
Min 12C Max 23C
Thursday
Partly cloudy. Slight chance of a shower, most likely in the evening. Light winds becoming northeasterly 15 to 25 km/h during the day then tending northerly during the afternoon.
Min 14C Max 30C
Christie Johnson from the Bureau of Meteorology warned Australians to keep alert for any weather warnings that might impact them over the Christmas week
Adelaide
Monday
Partly cloudy. Winds south to southwesterly 20 to 30 km/h becoming light in the late evening.
Max 23C
Tuesday
Cloud clearing. Light winds becoming southwesterly 15 to 20 km/h in the middle of the day then shifting east to southeasterly in the evening.
Min 12C Max 29C
Wednesday
Sunny. Winds east to northeasterly 15 to 25 km/h tending west to northwesterly 15 to 20 km/h during the day then tending easterly during the evening.
Min 18C Max 37C
Thursday
Partly cloudy. Medium chance of showers in the afternoon and evening. Winds northeasterly 15 to 25 km/h shifting westerly 30 to 45 km/h during the day.
Min 25C Max 36C
Perth
Monday
Sunny. The chance of a thunderstorm with little or no rainfall about the hills in the afternoon and early evening. Winds northeasterly 25 to 35 km/h shifting southwesterly 20 to 30 km/h in the middle of the day. Gusts up to 60 km/h about the hills and foothills in the morning.
Max 41C
Tuesday
Sunny. Winds south to southwesterly 25 to 40 km/h.
Min 20C Max 31C
Wednesday
Mostly sunny. Winds south to southwesterly 30 to 45 km/h.
Min 15C Max 24C
Thursday
Sunny. Winds southerly 25 to 40 km/h.
Min 12C Max 25C
Darwin
Monday
Partly cloudy. High chance of showers, most likely from late this morning. The chance of a thunderstorm. Light winds.
Max 33C
Tuesday
Partly cloudy. High chance of showers, most likely in the afternoon and evening. The chance of a thunderstorm. Light winds.
Min 25C Max 33C
Wednesday
Partly cloudy. Medium chance of showers, most likely in the afternoon. The chance of a thunderstorm. Light winds.
Min 26C Max 34C
Thursday
Partly cloudy. Medium chance of showers, most likely in the afternoon. The chance of a thunderstorm. Light winds.
Min 26C Max 34C
