Australia Weather News

Queensland is going to swelter through an unseasonal spring heatwave as more hot and dry conditions increase the risk of fires for much of the state this week.

Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Baden Gilbert said the Sunshine State would experience a gradual increase in temperatures into the weekend.

The majority of the state will be two to five degrees Celsius warmer than usual and Mr Gilbert says Ipswich and the Darling Downs could see temperatures almost 10C above average.

"That's just going to be the trend for much of the next week," he said.

"We do see some areas getting up around that five to nine degrees above their October average.

"It's definitely looking like a low-30 degrees sort of week for south-east Queensland, rather than the mid-20s we have been seeing the past couple of days."

A burst of heat and storms last week saw parts of Queensland reach their highest temperatures in several months.

Giant hail fell in the Hervey Bay region.

Mr Gilbert said temperatures were expected to peak on Saturday.

"For much of the state there is nothing coming in the next seven days that's a cooling trend," he said.

The BOM is forecasting an "unusually warm", wetter-than-normal spring for most of eastern Australia.

Fire danger

The unusually hot and dry weather has created ideal fire conditions and several blazes are already burning across the state.

A total fire ban is in effect for south-east Queensland.

Fire fighters and water-bombing aircraft spent the weekend battling out of control bushfires on Moreton Island, Nearum inland from Bundaberg and Tara.

Mr Gilbert said the dangerous conditions would persist for the rest of the week.

"There has been a lot of dry air making its way towards the coast in recent days and we have seen some fresher winds as well which have been increasing the fire danger," he said.

Queensland Fire Department assistant commissioner Matthew Bulow said crews responded to more than 100 vegetation fires between the southern border and Mackay over the weekend.

About 70 were still burning on Sunday afternoon.

No properties have been damaged but Mr Bulow said Queenslanders needed to be on alert for the next two weeks.

"Conditions aren't going to ease for firefighters across the state for the next 10 to 14 days," he said.

"That is going to prove challenging for us.

"Conditions can change really quickly, particularly if the winds pick up.

"For those fires that are contained, all it takes is a spark or an ember from a tree or a log that spreads and the fire becomes active again."

Climbing temperatures in the western parts of central and north Queensland are of particular concern and fire bans are in place for the Charters Towers, Flinders and Richmond shires.

"It is really quite dry there with high fuel loads," Mr Bulow said.

"Local fire bans do ease [in south-east Queensland tonight], however, based on the forecast we have got over the next week or two, with no significant rain there is a likelihood of increased fire bans again."