Hot northerly winds sent temperatures sky-rocketing through southern parts of Western Australia on Tuesday. Many southern towns had their hottest April day in 10 years. This included Albany at 34 degrees, North Walpole at 34, Dwellingup at 34 and Manjimup at 33. These maximum temperatures are around 13 degrees above the April average. Even Perth sweltered through some extreme April heat. The city reached 35 degrees, which is 10 above average. Perth airport managed a sweltering 36, 11 above average. This heat in Perth was the culmination of a 16-day streak of maxima above 30 degrees, which is a new record for autumn. Today's extreme heat was drawn down from northern parts of the state by increasing northerly winds ahead of an approaching front. This front will bring a cold and showery blast to southern parts of the state from Wednesday night into Thursday. Albany will see another warm 29-degree day on Wednesday but then plummet to just 18 on Thursday as cold southwest winds and heavy showers develop in the wake of the front. Perth will see rainfall totals remain below 10mm on Thursday, but is in for its coldest day in over four months, with a forecast top of 21.