Much of South Australia has just had a cooler-than-average January with the run of cool, dry weather continuing into the first week February but heat is not too far away. Cool, dry southerly winds have persisted for more than a week now and should continue through to this Thursday, drying the ground out after a wet start to January. That rain in early January was exceptionally heavy for summer, leading to the wettest January in decades in most areas, including the Murray Mallee. Murray Bridge received 53mm all up, 37mm more than average and its wettest January in 41 years. Whilst it has dried out since the middle of the month, it has also been very cool for this time of year. Temperatures have been running about three degrees below average for more than a fortnight. Despite a few very hot days early in the month, January turned out to be the coolest in a decade for most of the eastern, central and northern parts of the state. Both Yunta and Roxby Downs had their coolest January in more than 15 years, averaging a maximum of 31.1 and 34.7 degrees respectively. The cool, dry run is not far from ending. By the end of this week wind will turn more northerly. Next Friday and the weekend will be the hottest weather many places have got in about a month with temperatures due to reach the mid-to-high thirties. The weekend won't be the last of the heat for some even though a cooler change is due on Sunday. Inland areas should stay hot for a few more days. Typical for this time of year, relief is unlikely to come in the form of significant rain, but a dry southerly wind change. As a result, the scrub and grass will dry out even more, increasing the risk of bush fires.