Melbourne Is Set to Swelter Through Its First Scorcher of 2019

Melbourne might currently be enjoying a somewhat mild start to the new year, with temperatures in the mid-20s on January 1 and forecast to stay below 30 degrees until Thursday; however a blast of extra sizzling warmth awaits come the end of the week. Indeed, finding some frosty air-con or a shaded pool is recommended on Friday, when the city is predicted to swelter through a day-long spell of 42-degree heat.

The Bureau of Meteorology expects the mercury to soar across Victoria on January 4, hitting the 40–42 range in Melbourne and throughout the state's south, and reaching 44–46 in the north. While that's a whopping 16 degrees above Melbourne's average top January temperature according to Weatherzone, it's still lower than the city's highest recorded January maximum of 45.6 degrees back in 1939.

The particularly hot spell comes after several similarly baking days last month, although the temperature will exceed the 38-degree maximum experienced in the brief early-December heatwave. It'll also top Melbourne's efforts post-Christmas, when the mercury climbed to 37.4 degrees on December 27.

Thankfully, the scorching summer blast will be short-lived. BOM expects a gusty southwest change to arrive late on Friday, heralding a return to mid-20s temps. A cloudy few days will see Saturday peak at 24 degrees and Sunday hit just 22, before Tuesday climbs back up to 27.

Image: udeyismail via Flickr.