Australia Weather News

The first Friday of summer has given New South Wales a taste of what could be Australia's hottest summer on record.

A grass fire at Beni, near Dubbo, has now been downgraded after hitting an emergency-level warning, but it is not yet contained.

The Golden Highway has been closed in both directions.

The Rural Fire Service's Ben Shepherd said a number of isolated rural properties were still under threat from the Beni blaze, with anyone in the area advised to shelter in place.

At 6pm, a fire burning at Bulahdelah on the state's Mid North Coast which was initially under an emergency level warning had been downgraded to watch and act.

The Bulahdelah blaze shut the Pacific Highway earlier, but it has since reopened with one lane in both directions.

Mr Shepherd earlier said firefighters were battling strong winds and "trying conditions".

"We're seeing some unbelievable fire conditions on that fireground at the moment that is resulting in properties coming under threat," he said.

"We've seen a couple of grassfires and crop fires that have sprung up that [have] taken that attention of aircraft and crews, so it is proving to be a bit of a problematic afternoon.

"We are expecting conditions to deteriorate into tomorrow."

Mr Shepherd said resources were being stretched to manage about 60 fires across the state.

"We're trying to limit the impact on homes and people, but we need to also look at that economic impact for a lot of these farmers where these fires are burning," he said.

He said the Bulahdelah fire was unlikely to be contained by Friday night, with the Pacific Highway expected to remain closed into Saturday.

Heatwave warning

Authorities have also issued severe to extreme heatwave warnings for large parts of the state.

Sydney's temperature had climbed to 37.8 degrees Celsius by 1pm on Friday, exceeding the Bureau of Meteorology's (BOM) forecast of 35C and making it the city's hottest day since January 2024.

A sea-breeze has now reached the Observatory Hill station, meaning that could be the eventual maximum temperature for today.

Parts of Western Sydney bore the brunt of the heat, with paddleboarders Zoe and Brianna among those cooling off at Parramatta Lake on Friday.

"It's always a trek to get out to the beaches," Brianna noted, saying those from inland suburbs were fans of the Parramatta swimming spot or any local pools.

Workers in Gregory Hill in Sydney’s south-west covered up from the elements, with the temperature forecast to hit 39C.

Meanwhile, at Cronulla Beach, Mary-Anne Kent said she enjoyed keeping active whatever the weather.

"I’m a bit of a lizard so it doesn’t really worry me," she said.

"I’ve gotten up, and I’ve done yoga, and I’m just about to go for an hour walk, then I’ll probably go for a swim.

"I don’t sit inside with the air conditioning, I'd rather be outside and living life."

Tom Avery, too, said he was not bothered by the heat.

“I love it, I’ve always loved it," he said.

“I’m very comfortable in it."

How hot will it get?

Across the state, Bellambi, in the Illawarra region,recorded its hottest December day in two years, reaching 36.7C by 1pm.

Albion Park's 37.9C was 12 degrees above the December average, and the area's hottest day since January.

BOM senior meteorologist Sarah Scully said the hot weather would be at its peak on Saturday, before a cooler change on Sunday.

"It's also going to be very, very windy [on Saturday] so we will have a fire weather warning current for much of eastern and inland and northern parts of New South Wales," she told ABC News.

"There's also a risk of a thunderstorm but not a lot of rainfall is expected with any storms that do form, which does create a concern with regards to dry lightning."

Saturday will see temperatures up to 14C above average in NSW. 

Sydney is forecast to reach 37C, which after today’s 38C will become the first time in five years Sydney has recorded two consecutive days above 35C.

It might be a little premature to look forward to a southerly change, but modelling shows the following timing from south to north:

A reprieve from the heat is expected on Sunday, with inland temperatures expected to drop to the mid to high 20s.