Australia Weather News

SA Health's Nicola Spurrier said asthma sufferers should stay indoors as much as possible on Thursday. - ABC

Asthma sufferers are being urged to stay indoors tomorrow as the state braces for potentially damaging winds and dusty conditions.

The South Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) is forecasting wind speeds between 50 and 70 kilometres per hour, with winds potentially reaching 90 kilometres per hour in some parts of the state.

Strong northerly winds are expected to cause large clouds of fine dust and dust haze in many areas.

BOM supervising meteorologist Matt Collopysaid the wind will start to pick up early tomorrow before peaking during the late morning and into the afternoon.

"There are large areas of the state that are very dry and that could potentially produce fairly widespread areas of dust," he said.

"Adelaide is not as likely to be as affected as some areas, but there is certainly still potential to see that dust in Adelaide."

SA Health acting chief medical officer Nicola Spurrier said people with respiratory conditions such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease should try to stay indoors tomorrow.

"If you are in your car, make sure you have the windows of your car up and consider putting the air on recirculation," Dr Spurrier said.

"It's also important if you have a cardiac problem, because sometimes dusty conditions can also trigger a cardiac event."

Asthma Australia's Jo Williams said people suffering from hayfever and asthma needed to take extra precaution tomorrow and described the weather conditions as a "cocktail of asthma triggers".

"People with asthma and those around them need to take necessary steps now to stay safe," she said.

She said asthma could flare up while taking preventer medication, especially if the medication was not taken as prescribed.

"Asthma is serious and can escalate into life-threatening episodes if left unmanaged," she said.

The BOM is expected to issue a severe weather warning for parts of the state later this afternoon.

BOM: Temperatures above average for spring

The BOM's Matt Collopy said the state could come close to reaching record temperatures for this time of the year tomorrow with a top of30 degrees Celsius predicted for Adelaide before a cold frontmoves through.

"Temperatures around the state are around 10 to 15 degrees above average for this time of the year," he said.

"This is probably one above and beyond what we would normally expect this time of year in that we are going to see this very strong northerly situation followed by a big change in temperature beyond what normal springtime fronts would bring us."

Between five and 15 millimetres of rain is expected to fall in Adelaide tomorrow night and into the early hours of Friday, with higher totals expected in the state's south-east.

Mr Collopy said thunderstorms would also develop as the change moved across the state.

"There may be some isolated heavy falls with those thunderstorms, as well as the potential to see some more gusty winds as the thunderstorms move through in the early hours of Friday," he said.

State Emergency Service chief of staff Darryl Wright said the strong winds could bring trees and branches down.

"Where possible, people should avoid being around large trees during strong winds, and secure loose items, such as trampolines," he said.

ABC