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Northerly winds are very hot across northern SA, Vic, western NSW, southwest Qld & southern NT & very warm in Tas. A low is generating strong winds & heavy rain in WA's interior & dragging rain to the Nullarbor. A few storms for southern Qld, heavy rain in Qld's northern tropics.
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Today, 6:38AM UTC
48.9°C as Victoria sweats through hottest day on record
Temperatures in Victoria have soared to the highest levels ever recorded, with the mercury reaching 48.9°C in the small Mallee region towns of Walpeup and Hopetoun, south of Mildura. The old state record was 48.8°C at Hopetoun. Meanwhile just over the border, Renmark in South Australia's Riverland region recorded 49.6°C at 2:23pm. This not only broke the old town record of 48.6°C, but was the hottest temperature recorded anywhere in Australia to date in 2026. Let’s break down some key observations in the northern border region of Vic and SA, where the hottest air in the ongoing southeast Australian heatwave was concentrated this Tuesday. Victoria Notable readings included: 48.6°C at Mildura, which broke the old record of 46.9°C in Victoria's largest Murray River city. 48.1°C at Longerenong in the Wimmera district, about 300km south of Mildura, which broke the old record of 47.6°C. 46.3°C at Mortlake in the South West forecast district, the first time a temperature has been recorded above 46°C in the town of approximately 1200 residents. 45.0°C in Warrnambool at 2:22pm. The state’s largest coastal city outside of the Port Philip Bay area is usually protected from extreme heat, but before the sea breeze kicked in around 3pm, the town reached its hottest temperature in records dating back to 1897. 42.7°C in Melbourne just before 5pm, where the hottest air arrived later in the afternoon. Earlier, Australian Open matches on outside courts were suspended under the tournament’s extreme heat policy. 45.6°C at Laverton in southwest Melbourne just before 5pm, Tuesday’s hottest reading in the metropolitan area. South Australia Notable readings included: 49.6°C at Renmark, as mentioned above. 48.3°C at Lameroo, in eastern SA’s Murraylands forecast district. 48.2°C at Marree in SA’s North East Pastoral district, which might be considered a "warm-up" for the consecutive days of 49°C forecast for this Thursday and Friday. 42.2°C in Adelaide, which quite remarkably was recorded before 11am. It’s the fifth time this month temperatures have hit 42°C or higher in the SA capital. What caused today's record heat? As Weatherzone meteorologist Ben Domensino explained in his story earlier on Tuesday, a slow-moving upper-level high pressure system is causing air to heat up as it descends from higher altitudes towards the surface. "This 'subsidence warming' will occur for numerous consecutive days due to the slow-moving nature of the upper-level high, causing temperatures to remain at record-challenging levels for another few days," Domensino wrote. How long will this extreme heat last? Image: Heatwave forecast for Australia for the three days starting Wednesday, January 28, 2026. As the map above shows, there are several more days to go, although the worst heat will tend to track a little further north of where it was on Tuesday, with western NSW, northern SA and SW Qld copping the worst of it. Please check the Weatherzone warnings page for the latest information on extreme weather. For up-to-date bushfire information in states currently affected by extreme heat, check VicEmergency, the NSW Rural Fire Service, or the SA Country Fire Service. READ MORE: South Australian seaside sizzles at 49.5°C
Today, 2:19AM UTC
These Australian towns could approach 50°C this week
An intense and prolonged heatwave will grip southeastern Australia this week, with temperatures forecast to approach 50°C in parts of four states. Temperatures are soaring over Australia’s southeastern inland this week due to a slow-moving upper-level high pressure system causing air to heat up as it descends from higher altitudes towards the surface. As this ‘subsidence warming’ will occur for numerous consecutive days, due to the slow-moving nature of the upper-level high, it will cause temperatures to reach record-challenging levels in the next few days. Already close to 50°C on Monday, January 26 Temperatures already reached 49.5°C at Ceduna in South Australia on Monday as northerly winds carried intense inland heat towards the state’s south coast. This was Australia's highest temperature in two years and SA’s highest since 2019. Records could fall on Tuesday, January 27 The most intense heat on Tuesday will occur over northwest Victoria, western New South Wales and the eastern inland of SA. Temperatures are forecast to reach 48 to 49°C over this region, with potential for some places to reach 50°C in the afternoon. Places forecast to reach 49°C on Tuesday include: Mildura (Vic) Ouyen (Vic) Walpeup (Vic) Wentworth (NSW) Tuesday’s heat may challenge Vic’s official maximum temperature record of 48.8°C from Hopetoun Airport on February 7, 2009. Image: Forecast maximum temperatures on Tuesday, January 27, 2026. Source: Weatherzone. Heat shifting north on Wednesday, January 28 A westward shift in the centre of the upper-level high pressure system will allow the hottest air to move towards the north on Wednesday, targeting western NSW, southwest Queensland and the northwest of SA. Temperatures should once again climb to the high 40s on Wednesday and may near 50°C in some places. Thargomindah, Qld is predicted to hit 49°C and Tibooburra in NSW is forecast to reach 48°C on Wednesday afternoon. This may challenge Thargomindah’s maximum temperature record of 48.8°C on January 13, 2013. Image: Forecast maximum temperatures on Wednesday, January 28, 2026. Source: Weatherzone. Peak heat moving into northern SA on Thursday, January 29 The anticlockwise movement of the most intense heat will continue on Thursday, causing temperatures to rise in the north of SA, while also remaining blisteringly hot in southwest Qld and northwest NSW. SA’s northern pastoral districts are likely to be the hottest place in Australia on Thursday, with Maree and Roxby Downs predicted to reach 49°C, while Moomba and Oodnadatta should reach about 48°C. Pockets of 50°C heat are possible between some of these weather stations on Thursday afternoon. Image: Forecast maximum temperatures on Thursday, January 29, 2026. Source: Weatherzone. Heat intensifying over SA on Friday, January 30 By Friday, the upper-level high pressure system should be centred somewhere over the eastern inland of SA. This will allow the hottest air to target SA and cause more places to reach the high 40s. Friday could be the second 49°C day in a row for Maree, with Tarcoola also forecast to reach 49°C and Oodnadatta and Coober Pedy predicted to reach 48°C. Image: Forecast maximum temperatures on Friday, January 30, 2026. Source: Weatherzone. Last day of peak heat for many on Saturday, January 31 Saturday looks like being the final day of widespread temperature in the mid-to-high 40s before cooler air arrives in the form of a southerly wind change. There is increased uncertainty around maximum temperature on Saturday, although parts of SA, northern Vic and western NSW should still be very hot. Current forecasts suggest the mercury could climb to about 48°C around Maree in SA on Saturday, while Mildura in Vic, Menindee, Ivanhoe and Wilcannia in NSW and Thargomindah in Qld are all predicted to reach 46°C. Image: Forecast maximum temperatures on Saturday, January 31, 2026. Source: Weatherzone. How many times has Australia reached 50°C? It is rare to see temperatures exceeding 50°C in Australia. Prior to this heatwave, 50°C has only officially been exceeded seven times since reliable temperature records commenced in 1910: 50.7°C at Onslow Airport, WA on January 13, 2022 50.7°C at Oodnadatta, SA on January 2, 1960 50.5°C at Roebourne, WA on January 13, 2022 50.5°C at Mardie, WA on January 13, 2022 50.5°C at Mardie, WA on February 19, 1998 50.3°C at Oodnadatta, SA on January 3, 1960 50.1°C at Wilcannia, NSW on January 11, 1939
26 Jan 2026, 8:18AM UTC
South Australian seaside sizzles at 49.5°C
The intense heatwave currently baking parts (or in some cases all) of every Australian state and territory has just delivered the nation’s highest temperature in almost two years. Just after 4:30pm (ACDT), the coastal South Australian town of Ceduna registered 49.5°C. This was: The hottest temperature ever recorded in the popular fishing and tourist town in records going back to 1939. The hottest temperature recorded anywhere in South Australia since 2019 when Nullarbor, about 300 km west of Ceduna, reached 49.9°C in December. Possibly the equal-highest temperature ever recorded at a location directly on Australia’s southern coastline (along with 49.5°C at Port Augusta in SA in January 2019), although there are no official records for that statistic. Meanwhile Adelaide hit 44.7°C on its hottest day of what has been a very hot start to 2026, with four days this month now reaching 42°C or higher. Image: The famous Ceduna jetty on a somewhat more benign day. Why was Australia Day so hot in a coastal location? South Australia's coastline is no stranger to extreme heat. Before Australia Day 2026, Ceduna's previous high mark was 48.9°C. That said, you tend to think of SA’s dry interior when you think of the hottest days. For example, the outback town of Oodnadatta, in the North East Pastoral forecast district, jointly holds Australia’s high temperature record of 50.7°C. But this Australia Day, the core of the heat (the hottest air) was just northwest of Ceduna, and the winds took care of the rest. "North to northwesterly winds were gusty enough and skies were sunny enough to take that temperature close to the coast,” Weatherzone meteorologist Brett Dutschke explains. "Nullarbor, the nearest official weather station to Ceduna's west, picked up a sea breeze instead of the norhwesterlies so it only reached the high 30s." While Ceduna can expect a cool change from the west overnight with a relieving maximum of 27°C on Tuesday, eastern and northern parts of South Australia can expect the extreme heat to continue. After maximums of 46.9°C, 48.5°C and 47.2°C across the Australia Day long weekend, Oodnadatta is expecting 46°C, 46°C, 49°C, 49°C and 47°C from Tuesday through to Saturday. And South Australia is not the only place likely to see 49 degrees this week. Victoria to endure extreme heat on Tuesday Image: Forecast Victorian maximums for Tuesday, January 27, according to the ECMWF model. Victoria has never recorded a 49-degree day, in data extending back more than a century at many locations. But numerous Victorian towns are forecast to hit 49°C on Tuesday, including Mildura and Ouyen. There are even indications that some nearby spots could nudge 50°C, including the small town of Hopetoun, south of Mildura, which holds the current state record of 48.8°C. As you’d expect, Tuesday has been declared a day of total fire bans across Victoria, with extreme fire danger in most districts. Melbourne is heading for a top of 45°C. The city’s hottest day on record was 46.4°C on the infamous "Black Saturday" of February 7, 2009.