Most of Australia is set to swelter through a heatwave as a possible cyclone forms and a monsoonal tropical low causes devastating floods elsewhere in the country.
The widespread heatwave across most of Australia will continue to bring sweltering temperatures this week as north Queensland prepares for possible Cyclone Kirrily.
Thousands are bracing for the potential category three cyclone likely to form in the Coral Sea late on Monday before it crosses the coast later this week.
‘We’re getting to a severe category three cyclone as we move through the Wednesday time-frame,’ the Bureau of Meteorology’s Dean Narramore said on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Western Australia is preparing for the effects of an intense tropical low as it moves westward from the Northern Territory.
Most of Australia is set to swelter through a heatwave as a possible cyclone forms and a monsoonal tropical low causes devastating floods elsewhere in the country
A tropical low in the Coral Sea is expected to develop into a cyclone, which will be named Kirrily, late on Monday (pictured, the cyclone’s expected path)
Mr Narramore said Kirrily was likely to approach the Queensland coast as a severe cyclone into Thursday but there was still some uncertainty about where it would make landfall.
‘While our consensus track does cross it to the south of Townsville, there’s still a range of scenarios where we could see a cross between Cairns and Mackay,’ he said.
There’s also uncertainty about where the cyclone could track after it makes landfall.
Mr Narramore said it could move back out to sea or move south, possibly bringing heavy rain and damaging winds to parts of southeast Queensland.
Emergency Management Minister Murray Watt said the impact of landfall could be significant.
‘We would obviously be concerned if there was to be any further impact on those areas that were already hit by tropical Cyclone Jasper and are very much still in recovery mode,’ he told ABC radio on Monday.
‘But really, if we’re talking about a category three system, that could have pretty serious effects wherever it crosses landfall.’
The continued weather events could also have knock-on effects on inflation, Senator Watt warned.
‘There are some crops like all pawpaws, tropical fruits, which were directly impacted,’ he said.
‘But the additional impact is on supply chains.’
A tropical low has caused widespread flooding, road closures and evacuations of some communities in the Northern Territory
A low-intensity to severe heatwave will affect most of Australia with Adelaide set to be the hottest city with a high of 39C this week (pictured, the top temperatures for all capitals)
The Palmerston Highway, which is a key supply route, has been badly damaged but Senator Watt said there were no direct signs the weather has had an impact on produce costs and inflation at this stage.
He has held discussions with Premier Steven Miles to ensure all emergency management agencies are ready and to get supply chain routes back up and running.
Meanwhile, large parts of Australia are in the grips of a massive heatwave.
An extreme to severe intensity heatwave will affect eastern parts of the interior and the western Pilbara in Western Australia, and parts of northwestern South Australia on Monday.
A severe to low intensity heatwave will continue over most of the remaining parts of central and southern WA, the southern Northern Territory and SA except the far southeast and southwest.
Most of Queensland will suffer a low-intensity heatwave with pockets on the state’s coastline and the southwest forecast to see severe heatwave conditions.
Brisbane is one of the regions set to see a severe heatwave with temperatures to reach 37C on Monday.
Cloudy conditions will help ease the sun’s intensity with grey skies to hang over the city until rain moves in on Friday.
However, those clouds could worsen the city’s humidity which is making temperatures feel 5C-8C warmer than they actually are.
Weatherzone meteorologist Yoska Hernández explained the trough, likely to develop into a cyclone, over north Queensland will also affect Brisbane’s humidity.
‘The monsoon trough will bring humidity from the north and the ocean water is also hot in southeast Queensland. This combined will cause accelerated humidity,’ she told Daily Mail Australia.
‘Brisbane will see its hottest day today (Monday) but a southerly change moving in this evening will see cooler temperatures from Tuesday.’
Sydney and Canberra are set to see rain in the later half of this week, coupled with temperatures reaching up to 36C
Queensland’s energy minister has also issued assurances the state’s energy grid will withstand soaring temperatures.
Parts of the state are set to swelter with temperatures across inland areas tipped to reach the low 40s and rise to the mid to high 30s in the southeast.
Areas likely to be impacted include Bowen, Birdsville, Bundaberg, Brisbane, Gladstone, Ipswich and Longreach.
Birdsville had reached over 32C at 6am (AEST) on Monday with Brisbane expected to swelter through temperatures eight degrees above average.
Energy Minister Mick De Brenni has forecasted enough electricity supply to keep Queensland power running amid Monday’s forecasted extreme heat.
‘I am assured teams at Queensland owned energy corporations Powerlink and Energy Queensland are managing the situation carefully,’ he said.
‘The authorities will monitor the situation closely and if there is any change we will provide updates.’
For parents of returning school students, ensuring access to water and sun safety is paramount, the Queensland Ambulance Service said.
‘Have a general chat with them, let them know to keep up their water … and if they do start feeling headaches or tummy upsets, just to let someone at school know,’ senior operations supervisor Matthew Hannabery said.
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued an extreme heatwave warning for the northwestern pastoral district of South Australia, with temperatures expected in the low to mid-40s.
Adelaide is expected to see its hottest day of the week on Tuesday with a high of 39C and a low of 21C.
‘Adelaide will see heat tomorrow (Tuesday) due to a trough moving over the region, bringing very hot northerly winds. It will be a dry heat,’ Ms Hernández said.
Fortunately, the maximum temperature will drop to 34C on Wednesday as clouds move over the city ahead of rain on Thursday.
Parts of New South Wales are also expected to swelter in the coming days.
Areas in the north of the state, including Moree, could reach temperatures in the high 30s and low 40s.
A severe heatwave will affect parts of Brisbane (above) with high cloud coverage, a tropical low and ocean heat worsening the humidity
Ms Hernández warned heatwave conditions over Sydney could remain through to next weekend.
‘Sydney is set to see heat on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday next week before a cool change moves over on Saturday,’ she said.
The city’s hottest day is set to fall on Friday with a high of 36C.
Cloudy conditions over Sydney on Monday and Tuesday are set to slightly ease on Wednesday and Thursday ahead of rain on Friday.
Canberra’s forecast is also looking grey with cloudy weather from Monday to Wednesday and showers on Thursday and Friday.
WA has already been sizzling, with temperatures reaching almost 50C in some areas of the Pilbara at the weekend.
A few more days of high temperatures are forecast for the Piblara and northern Gascoyne regions, but the heatwave is expected to ease from Wednesday.
While Perth is not expected to see a heatwave, the city will still swelter through high temperatures coupled with intense sun.
A clear sky on Monday is forecast to couple with temperatures reaching 28C followed by a top of 27C on Tuesday.
Wednesday is set to be very windy with wind speeds reaching 45km/h.
The city’s hottest day is forecast to come on Saturday with a high of 35C.
Severe to low-intensity heatwave conditions are expected across much of the rest of South Australia and into southern parts of the Northern Territory.
Partly cloudy conditions in Melbourne early this week are expected to develop into showers on Thursday
Monday and Tuesday are set to be Darwin’s hottest days this week with a high of 32C.
Showers over the city are set to continue through to next week.
Only a small part of northwest Victoria will be affected by a low-intensity heatwave.
However, temperatures are forecast to jump in Melbourne from Tuesday.
A high of just 20C on Monday will be followed by a high of 29C on Tuesday and 33C on Wednesday.
The heat will be coupled with cloudy conditions ahead of rain on Thursday and Friday.
It comes as a tropical low that has caused widespread flooding, road closures and evacuations of some communities in the Northern Territory moves into Western Australia’s Kimberley.
Mr Narramore said the system had been ‘persistent’ and was tracking so slowly it was ‘hardly moving’ across the NT.
The community of Kalkarindji was warned it could be isolated as the Victoria River rose to near-record flood levels on Sunday.
Some catchments along the river received up to 370mm of rain in three days.
While the system was not expected to bring as much rain to the Kimberley as it has across the NT, a severe weather warning has been issued for the region.
A tropical low which caused widespread floods in the Northern Territory is moving westward into Western Australia (pictured, flooding of the Victoria River at the Victoria River Bridge)
Heavy rainfall and flash flooding are possible and a flood watch is in place for East Kimberley, Fitzroy River, Sandy Desert De Grey River and Sturt Creek District.
Hobart is also set to see a grey week with rain forecast on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.
The rest of the week is expected to be filled with cloudy conditions.
Much like Melbourne, the temperature is expected to jump from Tuesday from a high of 16C on Monday to 20C.
A top of 27C is forecast for Wednesday, followed by 26C on Thursday.