UPDATE: IF you live on the coast and think it’s hot on the Sunshine Coast right now, you don’t have to leave the region’s boundaries to discover are suffering more than most.
Away from the coast and west of the Bruce Highway temperatures have hit another level and that’s not counting Gympie to our north which was a stifling 38 degrees in the early afternoon and with no relief in sight ahead of Saturday’s expected 39 degree maximum.
The Bureau of Meteorology is predicting Gympie will hit 37 degrees on Thursday, 38 on Friday, cool to 31 degrees on Sundaty and Monday before bumping back up to 34 degrees come Tuesday.
Nambour is currently 36 degrees, will be a cooler 33 degrees Thursday but then climb to 36 degrees on Friday and then 38 degrees on Saturday.
Conditions will cool considerable to 30 degrees on Sunday and then 29 on Monday before sliding back up to 32 on Tuesday.
Further west Maleny is 36 degrees, anticipating a four degree drop to 32 on Thursday before climbing back to 34 on Friday and then 35 degrees Saturday.
Relief will come Sunday when maximums will fall back down to 28 before going lower to 27 degrees on Monday.
Tuesday though with 31 degrees will mirror the regional trend of 30 plus maximums into the next week.
If you live in Beerburrum which is now 36.1 degrees the forecast will encourage trips to the pool or the beach.
It’s going to be 34 degrees on Thursday, 36 on Friday and 37 on Saturday before tumbling back down to 31 on Sunday and then 30 on Monday before climbing back to 33 on Tuesday.
The Sunshine Coast remains on high fire alert as strong northerlies persist and is likely to remain so for the next four years.
Queensland Fire and Rescue has warned the region’s bushfire season will stretch through to the end of January this year and urges people considering lighting open fires to check first with authorities.
EARLIER: bushfire danger warning is in place for the Sunshine Coast as hot conditions and strong northerly winds continue to beset the region.
A Queensland Fire and Rescue spokesman said the bushfire season for the entire North Coast including the Sunshine Coast, Wide Bay and Burnett had been extended to the end of January with fire fighters having already attended 1700 blazes across the region.
It will be hot and steamy for the rest of Wednesday with no sign of rain, and winds from the north and north-east blowing at 15-25kmh before easing later in the day.
A weak south easterly change has been predicted for Thursday but will have little affect on temperatures, which will range from 23 to 33 degrees with only a 20% chance of light falls to only 0.4mm.
Winds will rise to 20kmh from the south east during the middle of the day but will then drop out to become light approaching evening.
Friday will be a belter, with temperatures hitting a peak of 34 degrees and winds firmly back to dry north-westerlies swinging north east at 20-30kmh as the day progresses.
There is a 30% chance of rain possibly from thunderstorms that may come in either the morning or afternoon.
Saturday is expected to be even hotter with another partly cloudy day hitting a temperature peak of 35 degrees off the back of a sweltering Friday night where the minimum won’t get below 26 degrees.
There is, however, a 70% chance of falls between 2-6mm and the expected arrival of a southerly change.
Winds will be light early but then shift southerly at 15-20kmh before edging south east at 15-25kmh.
The change will drop temperatures significantly on Sunday, which has an expected maximum of 30 degrees off an overnight low of 23 degrees.
It will be partly cloudy with a 50% chance of rain and winds persisting from the south east at 20-30kmh.
Monday’s temperatures will stay relatively low with an overnight minimum Sunday of 22 degrees, rising to 29 degrees during the day.
There is a 40% chance of rain but again it would only be light with the Bureau of Meteorology predicting falls of no more than 2mm.
Tuesday’s temperatures will stay relatively low compared with the heatwave-like conditions of the past two weeks.
A range from 21-31 degrees is expected with just a 30% chance of rainfall and no more than 0.4mm.
Winds will be light early before strengthening from the east at 15-25kmh.
Source: http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/news/the-hidden-danger-behind-coast-heatwave/3133004/