Parts of the east are at the beginning of a sweltering five day run of days peaking north of 30C.
The summer like conditions come just a fortnight after winter ended.
Sydney’s west could peak at 36C on Monday – that’s 16 degrees above the September average.
Meteorologists have said it might just be the hottest September weather in six years.
New South Wales is set to be at the centre of the scorching weather. But much of the east and south could see heat spikes.
Adelaide is forecast to brush 30C on Sunday. But, in Perth, things will be much more standard with highs of barely 20C.
Sky News Weather meteorologist Alison Osborne told news.com.au a high in the Tasman Sea was in a “blocking” mode which was “essentially squishing any cold fronts, pushing them well south of the mainland”.
The high pressure system has two effects. Spinning anti clockwise, it drags warm air from Australia’s north and central areas towards the east and south.
It also aids in clearer skies allowing more heat in during the day. However, the lack of clouds also means the heat can escape at night. And that means it won’t, strictly speaking, be heatwave conditions.
Nonetheless, the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) has warned hot and windy conditions on particularly Monday and Tuesday could lead to extra fire dangers in some parts of NSW.
Sydney suburbs set to hit 36C
“The heat in Sydney on Monday and Tuesday could be in the mid-thirties which would be the city’s hottest September weather in six years,” said Ms Osborne.
So far, the BOM doesn’t quite have the CBD reaching that heat – but that doesn’t mean it won’t get there.
Beginning it’s five day stretch, a bright Sydney city, full of blue skies, should see a high of 32C on Saturday and then 30C on Sunday and Monday.
Tuesday and Wednesday are forecast to reach 32C before a drop to 23C on Thursday.
You can add a good few degrees to those temperatures in the city’s west where the heat will indeed linger around the mid-thirties.
Penrith will get to 34C on Saturday and then 36C on Monday and not far off that on Tuesday and Wednesday.
And yet overnight, the mercury will be far more average with around 12C minimums in the west and 15C closer to the sea.
Newcastle will reach 31C across the weekend and rise to 34C on Wednesday; Dubbo will bob around 32C for the next five days and Hay is looking at 36C on Monday.
Wollongong could be cooler at just below 30C until Tuesday. But further down the coast Bega could jump to 34C the same day.
In the north, Tamworth will get to 31C on Sunday and 32C by Wednesday but Ballina could take until Thursday to break into the thirties at 31C.
It looks like Canberra will miss out on that level of heat completely with a weekend forecast for both days of 25C and lows of 7C. But it should be sunny for the capital.
Monday is set to be 28C and Tuesday 27C.
Adelaide is forecast to reach 24C on a sunny Saturday and then jump to a beachy 28C on Sunday with some clouds. Monday will head down to 25C and then into the teens by Wednesday.
A lovely 25C day in Melbourne on Saturday and much the same on Sunday. A slight dip to 22C on Monday and then a jump up to 26C for Tuesday. Rain is possible from Wednesday.
Positively chilly in comparison across the Bass Strait with a rainy Hobart seeing 17C on Saturday, then just 15C on Sunday before a slightly warmer beginning of the week.
Brisbane, Darwin and Perth
Brisbane will exceed 30C, but it’s going to take its sweet time getting there.
Expect four days of 26C maximums starting on Saturday before 30C is finally achieved on Wednesday and then 34C on Thursday.
Cairns will spend the next few days in the high twenties and then head into the low thirties from Wednesday onwards.
Darwin will see a week of 34C highs and sunshiny days.
Perth will peak at 22C on Saturday and then settle into 20C highs from Sunday until Tuesday before rising to 23C midweek. It should be a mostly sunny weekend in the west.