Queensland heatwave to ease as southern winds bring temperatures down across the state - ABC News

Scorching heat that has baked Queensland in recent weeks is forecast to ease by the weekend as cool winds sweep in from the south.

Key points:

• South-easterly winds are expected to bring a cool change
• Showers are forecasts over Fraser Island today, but not enough to put out the flames
• Temperatures will be below average across most of the state by this weekend

Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) meteorologist Rosa Hoff said the winds are expected to ease heatwave conditions, bringing temperatures down below Queensland's December average.

"The trough is acting like a windscreen wiper — it's pushing the hot air away and allowing the cold air to flow behind it," Ms Hoff said.

"Most of the state will be below average this weekend."

Fire burns bushland right over the beach near Happy Valley on Fraser Island.(Supplied: Angie Knight)

Ms Hoff said temperatures are expected to drop from 2 to 4 degrees Celsius above average today, to as much 8C below average across the southern interior by the weekend.

The milder temperatures could bring more rain, but this is not expected to be enough to douse flames on Fraser Island, she said.

Fire continued to tear through the World Heritage-listed island on Monday, as north-easterly winds pushed flames toward the township of Happy Valley, where firefighting efforts helped prevent property loss.

Residents were urged to leave as large aerial tankers from Queensland and NSW dumped hundreds of thousands of litres of water and fire retardant on the blaze.

The wind direction is expected to change by this evening, which could either help firefighters or potentially push flames further east in the direction of Kingfisher Bay Resort, Ms Hoff said.

"The north-to-north easterly wind regime has been acting to push the fire closer to the Happy Valley township," she said.

"When the trough moves through Tuesday evening, it'll lead to south-easterly winds."

Hail was reported in several suburbs, including some as large as 4cm at Bongaree.(Supplied: Denise Hunter)

Wild storms

Severe thunderstorms that pelted homes and downed power lines in South-East Queensland yesterday also failed to deliver rain to Fraser Island.

Multiple storm cells moved through the corner of the state, from Gympie in the north to the inland border.

Hail stones as large as 4 centimetres were recorded in Bongaree on Bribie Island.

There is a chance of showers for Fraser Island today that could bring as much as 5 millimetres of rain, said Ms Hoff.

But she said that would not be enough to douse the flames and could end up creating more problems for firefighters by creating more smoke.

Light rain forecast for Tuesday could create more smoke over Fraser Island.(Supplied: QFES)

Cool change coming

Parts of Queensland have endured heatwave conditions in the past few weeks.

Last month was the state's second-warmest November on record for mean, maximum and minimum temperatures, according to BOM.

Southerly winds are expected to cool most of the state, including Birdsville that has sweltered through a heatwave.(Supplied: Elizabeth Wood)

Towards the end of the month, Birdsville set a record four-day run of temperatures of at least 46C — the longest stint of record temperatures since 2006.

The outback town recorded a high of 48.7C last Saturday.

But by the end of this week, the maximums in Birdsville are likely to be closer to 33C, according to BOM's 7-day forecast.

Further north in Winton, the daily high is expected to drop 10C from 41C on Monday to 31C next Sunday.

Brisbane is looking ahead to highs of 25C next Sunday, down from temperatures of almost 34C before yesterday's storm.

Fire bans extended

BOM meteorologist James Thompson said the recent hot, dry temperatures and strong winds have increased fire danger ratings to "high" and "very high" in some parts of the state.

"We're seeing very high fire danger ratings for the south-east coast district with drier windy conditions moving into the region," he said.

"We will then see the cool change moderate fire danger ratings from Wednesday," he added.

Yesterday, Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) extended a fire ban across the south-east to midnight on Friday.

"Current fire conditions are perfect for bushfires to ignite and spread quickly," QFES said in a statement.

The fire ban spans Logan, the Scenic Rim, Ipswich, the Lockyer Valley, Somerset and Gold Coast local government areas.

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2020-12-07 19:40:00Z
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