The sun has been shining on Cobar so far this month, allowing the area to heat up like summer and providing the hottest April weather in 26 years. On Tuesday afternoon it reached 35.7 degrees, only 0.3 of a degree short of the April record, set in 1986. Not only is this 10 degrees above the April average it is even hotter than the mid-summer average of 34. Unseasonable heat has not been restricted to the Cobar area. Much of Australia's interior has been experiencing the sort of heat they haven't had since summer. In New South Wales' far northwest corner, Tibooburra had its hottest April day in 59 years, reaching 38 degrees. For a few days now, temperatures have been reaching the mid-to-high 30s over a large area of the country's interior, with help from almost unbroken sunshine. The lack of cloud in the past week or so has allowed the heat to build up to near-record levels. Early on Tuesday afternoon Birdsville hit 41 degrees, taking it within a degree of the April record of 41.7, set in 1968. Also in southwest Queensland, Thargomindah has just had its hottest April day in 12 years, exceeding 37 degrees. It was also the hottest April day in 12 years for Moomba, in far northeastern South Australia, were it reached 39 degrees, within a degree of the monthly record. This sort of heat is not going away in a hurry, despite a cooler change coming through tonight. This change will be so weak that much of the region will still reach the mid-to-high 30s until at least Easter. It won't be until Easter Sunday or Monday before it cools to the low 30s, after a stronger cooler change arrives. Rare April heat hasn't been restricted to the interior. Queensland's tropical north coast has been unsually warm for this time of year with help from clearer skies in the wake of the monsoon. These clear skies have combined with winds blowing off the land to bring the warmer-than-normal days. South Johnstone, inland of Innisfail has just had its warmest April day in 17 years, reaching 32.5 degrees. Townsville's 33 degrees today is a seven-year high for April.