Sick of the cool and windy days of late, Illawarra? Well, get ready for a heatwave.
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After colder-than-usual January weather this week, the mercury will take an upward trajectory from Thursday – gradually climbing into the 30s by the weekend.
Friday is set to begin a four-day “severe heatwave” across the Illawarra and down the South Coast, the Bureau of Meteorology has warned, as a broad trough directs heat from the centre of the country over the region.
Temperatures in western Sydney are expected to potentially push close to, or exceed, 40 degrees for five days in a row from Thursday.
However, sea breezes should spare coastal areas, including Wollongong, the worst of the heat.
In the city, temperatures are set to be capped at 31 degrees during the four days from Friday.
This week’s hot spell “will be similar in length but not as intense” as the one at the start of January, Graeme Brittain, a forecaster at Weatherzone, told Fairfax Media.
The early-January heat saw Albion Park record a top of 41.3 degrees on January 7.
Wollongong should reach 27 degrees on Thursday and 29 on Friday, before the mercury peaks at 31 degrees on Saturday.
Inland, temperatures at Albion Park will be at least a couple of degrees warmer each day, topping 34 degrees on Saturday.
The bureau’s three-day heat forecasts show “severe heatwave” conditions across much of southern NSW from Friday to Sunday, with a small area of “extreme heatwave” conditions over the state’s far southeast.
From Saturday to Monday, the “severe heatwave” area moves further north but maintains its coverage of the Illawarra.
The bureau defines a heatwave as three or more days of unusually-high maximum and minimum temperatures in a particular location.
Bellambi’s average January maximum is 24.9 degrees, while Albion Park’s daytime norm for this time of year is 26.9 degrees.
The average January lows are 19.1 and 16.9 degrees, respectively.
FIVE-DAY FORECAST
WOLLONGONG
- Thursday – Min: 15°C / Max: 27°C
- Friday – 17°C / 29°C
- Saturday – 19°C / 31°C
- Sunday – 21°C / 29°C
- Monday – 21°C / 31°C
ALBION PARK
- Thursday – Min: 13°C / Max: 29°C
- Friday – 16°C / 33°C
- Saturday – 18°C / 34°C
- Sunday – 20°C / 32°C
- Monday – 20°C / 34°C