Thought it was hot last month? You’re not wrong.
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A continued run of warmer-than-usual weather to start 2017 has seen the record books rewritten at Wollongong’s two weather stations.
The Bureau of Meteorology’s observation spots – at Albion Park and Bellambi – both recorded average minimum and maximum temperatures above the January mean.
Albion Park’s average maximum for the month was 29.6 degrees – 2.9 degrees above the suburb’s long-term January average.
According to Weatherzone, those figures delivered the inland suburb its hottest January (average minimum and maximum temperatures) in 14 years of records.
On the coast, January 2017 was Bellambi’s warmest first month of the year in 16 years of records.
Elsewhere, a 43.2-degree day on Monday (15.7 degrees above average) helped deliver Nowra its warmest January in 13 years.
The warmer-than-normal conditions weren’t confined to the Illawarra.
Monthly average maximum temperatures were one-to-five degrees above average at every weather station across NSW during January, according to Weatherzone meteorologist Ben Domensino.
Looking ahead, Mr Domensino said more hot and dry weather was on the cards during February as a “stubborn sub-tropical ridge dominates weather patterns”.