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WA's Eucla overheating in October

Western Australia's Eucla will swelter through extremely hot conditions, in what is turning out to be the hottest October in decades for some parts.

A cold front is sweeping across southern parts of WA today, pushing hot, dry and gusty northerlies into the Eucla District.

These winds prevented the mercury from dropping below 21.9 degrees in the town of Eucla on Friday evening, making it the hottest night since March and a restless sleep for locals.

Temperatures are now set to soar on Saturday, with Eucla tipped to top 37 degrees, while Balgair and Forrest hit blistering highs closer to 40. Near the district's southwest coast, Eyre should get lucky with a seabreeze, keeping their maximum in the high 20s after yesterday's scorching 36.

For much of the district this October is looking likely to go down as one of the hottest on record. So far, Eyre is having their hottest October in at least 27 years, with the days having averaged 27.5 degrees. It's a similar story in Forrest, which has averaged 29.7 degrees, so far making it the hottest October in at least 19 years.

The reason why it has been so warm is due to a lack of strong fronts during early spring, which allowed central Australia to become hotter than normal. As the season progressed the fronts grew stronger, dragging this heat towards the state's south.

As the front approaches later on Saturday, showers and thunderstorms are likely to develop. These showers will combine with a southwesterly wind change to extinguish the heat and bring milder conditions over the following days.

As is common, the heat affecting the Eucla today is an indicator of what's to come further east over the coming days, as the cold front pushes the hot airmass towards the nation's south and east.

In SA and VIC the heat will mainly affect inland parts. For NSW, however, the airmass will spread closer to the coast, leading to several very hot days and elevating fire dangers once again. Thankfully for fire affected parts the winds accompanying this heat are not expected to be as powerful as earlier this week.

- Weatherzone

© Weatherzone 2013

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