A run of hot nights and days has finally come to an end across the Channel Country region in Queensland. A cooler airmass accompanied by southerly winds pushed the hottest of the air well to the north of the area yesterday. Before this, persistent northerly winds had kept it hot for most of last week and the weekend. Although the Channel Country had four-day spell of daytime temperatures over four degrees above the average, the heat was most pronounced during the night. Residents around Boulia in particular sweltered as the sun went down - this morning marked the end of their hottest stretch of nights in over 10 years, with one night only dropping to 34.5 degrees. This was the hottest minimum recorded in over 120 years of records. The region has so far had a warmer than average first half of February. Although a few cool days came with rain and cloud near the beginning of the month, some daily warm anomalies have been as much as 7 to 10 degrees above the norm. The respite from the oppressive heat looks brief. Although the nights don't look as uncomfortable as the recent spell, 40-degree-plus days will make their return by the weekend, and will stay at or above this level for most of next week.