Firefighters ready to go through NSW as new heatwave looms

“There will be a heat wave, especially in the western suburbs like Penrith,” he said.

Loading

Thursday is expected to bring highs of 35 degrees in the city and 37 in the west before slightly cooler conditions on Friday where a maximum of 30 degrees in the city and 34 in the west are forecast.

Temperatures will remain high into Tuesday when the weather system is expected to move away from the coast.

Nighttime temperatures are not expected to drop below 20 degrees during the heatwave.

Clapp said back-to-back heat waves are not uncommon for this time of year. He also said that heat waves typically bring dry heat rather than humidity.

“In March we always have the potential to see warmer conditions,” he said.

“We don’t typically see cooler conditions until April or May, which we see as typical fall.”

The rest of NSW is also expected to be affected by the warmer weather, with Bourke in the north-west of the state set to hit 41 degrees on Saturday.

End of La Nina

Also on Tuesday, the Bureau of Meteorology declared the end of La Niña.

The weather system has brought devastating floods to Australia for the past three summers.

However, the bureau also warned that there is now a 50/50 chance of El Niño hitting this summer, which would bring dry, hot conditions.

The last time El Niño was in effect was the 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires. In the past, El Niño has also contributed to some of the country’s most severe droughts.

“An El Niño observation is not a guarantee that El Niño will occur, but rather an indication that some of the typical precursors to an event are currently being observed,” it said.

The Morning Edition Newsletter is our guide to the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Login here.