Summer arrives early on a blanket of hot air: [1 All-round Country Edition]
Stapleton, John. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 29 Nov 2004: 3.
Abstract
The hottest parts of the continent yesterday were in South Australia, where Oodnadatta, Woomera and Moomba all notched 43C. Temperatures in northwest Western Australia soared well into the 40s, and Ivanhoe in western NSW also hit 43C.
In NSW, total fire bans were imposed in the northern Riverina and southwest of the state, as well as across much of the central west and the Hunter. Very high to extreme fire warnings are in place across much of NSW. In South Australia, there was a total fire ban on the west coast, the Riverland and the Flinders areas, while bans have been imposed across much of the state today. A fire warning has also been issued for the Mallee in Victoria.
Full Text
THE official start of summer is two days away but Australians flocked to beaches from one end of the country to the other yesterday as the season arrived early.
Much of the country is already sweltering ahead of the first day of December on Wednesday, and in Sydney the mercury soared as the city experienced its hottest November day in 16 years.
While the stifling conditions brought discomfort for many, Pacific islanders celebrating their culture at a Bondi festival revelled in the fact that it was just like home. Alofa Brown, a proud grandmother from Niue Islands, described yesterday’s weather as “gorgeous”, just like the Pacific Islands except for the absence of greenery. “Bondi needs some palm trees,” she said. “That is all that is missing.”
President of the Pacific Wave Association, Takiora Ingram, who organised yesterday’s Pasifika Sunday festival, said there were about 75,000 Pacific islanders living in Sydney. Among the hundreds of participants yesterday were families from the Cook Islands, Tonga, Samoa and Fiji.
“The day is important because Islanders have little chance to practice their culture,” she said.
The hottest parts of the continent yesterday were in South Australia, where Oodnadatta, Woomera and Moomba all notched 43C. Temperatures in northwest Western Australia soared well into the 40s, and Ivanhoe in western NSW also hit 43C.
A stagnant blanket of hot air has built up across the inland in the past week. This is expected to move southeast over the next 48 hours into South Australia and NSW, making them even hotter.
Temperatures in Sydney peaked at 38.9C shortly after 4pm yesterday, the hottest November day in 16 years, but forecasters are predicting the city might end up with a new “hottest November day” tomorrow. The previous hottest was 41.8C in 1982.
In NSW, total fire bans were imposed in the northern Riverina and southwest of the state, as well as across much of the central west and the Hunter. Very high to extreme fire warnings are in place across much of NSW. In South Australia, there was a total fire ban on the west coast, the Riverland and the Flinders areas, while bans have been imposed across much of the state today. A fire warning has also been issued for the Mallee in Victoria.
Don White, spokesman for the consultancy firm Weatherwatch, said the conditions were being propelled by “exceptionally hot air” over the centre and northwest of the continent. “That air is going to flow straight over NSW by Tuesday, beating the official start of summer on Wednesday by a day,” he said.