If you thought earlier forecasts for Christmas Day were hot, then the latest outlook is sure to give you a meltdown.<\/p>\n
An absolutely sizzling 41C is now predicted to be the order of Christmas Day in Perth, making the beach and back yard pools massively popular.<\/p>\n
The extreme heat will come on the back of a warm night of 26C, with the mercury on Christmas Eve hitting 39C.<\/p>\n
A few weeks ago, Christmas in Perth had been forecast to be a lovely 24C. This then changed to 39C. Then 40C. And now 41C.<\/p>\n
Thankfully, it cools down in the city on Boxing Day, with a minimum of 23C followed by a comfortable 30C maximum.<\/p>\n
Storms and rain are forecast over the Kimberley region on Christmas Day, while temperatures are slated to reach the low to mid 40s in the Pilbara.<\/p>\n
The south-west of WA will be cooler, with the mercury hovering in the late 20s and early 30s for most parts.<\/p>\n
While Perth and most of WA cooks on Christmas Day, the weather is wildly different across Australia.<\/p>\n
The Bureau of Meteorology tips Brisbane to also feel the heat with 35C.<\/p>\n
However, residents in Melbourne and Hobart may have to break out their winter woollies with forecast tops of just 17C and 16C respectively.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Melbourne only reaches 17C, it will be Melbourne\u2019s coldest Christmas Day since 2006,\u201d senior meteorologist Jonathan How said.<\/p>\n
\u201cQuite the extremes across both ends of the country.\u201d<\/p>\n
There is a chance of a shower in Melbourne in the morning, while showers are forecast across western Tasmania.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe could even see some light snow flurries about the elevated country on Christmas morning,\u201d Mr How said.<\/p>\n
Conditions will be \u201cvery muggy\u201d in Brisbane and the city could be hit by a shower or thunderstorm in the afternoon.<\/p>\n
Storms and rain are forecast from the above the Sunshine Coast to Cairns across most of the Northern Territory and to WA.<\/p>\n
Darwin and Cairns have predicted maximum temperatures in the low 30s, while Adelaide, Sydney and Canberra will be in the sweet spot with tops in the mid 20s.<\/p>\n
The huge variance in daily temperatures stems from a high-pressure system hovering over the Great Australian Bight, which is not common for this time of year.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt just comes down to timing and unfortunately the coolest day of the week coincides with Christmas Day across Victoria and Tasmania,\u201d Mr How said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s warming up after that \u2014 for the Boxing Day Test it will be dry and we will see the sun coming out for the afternoon at the MCG.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor Melbourne and certainly the south-east of the country, it will start to warm up heading into next weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n
The scorching temperatures across Perth and WA prompted State chief health officer Andrew Robertson to warn people to protect themselves.<\/p>\n
\u201cExtreme heat is Australia\u2019s deadliest natural hazard,\u201d Dr Robertson said on Saturday.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re seeing longer, hotter and more frequent heatwaves and Western Australians should prepare early and take precautions when temperatures climb.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr Robertson said extreme heat could strain the heart and kidneys, cause dehydration and heat exhaustion, and if untreated could be life-threatening.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven fit and healthy people can be affected if they don\u2019t take precautions,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s important to stay hydrated, rest in cool places during the hottest part of the day and look after each other.\u201d<\/p>\n
WA Health advises drinking plenty of water, seeking shade or air-conditioning during the middle of the day, avoiding strenuous activity during the hottest parts of the day and wearing light, loose clothing and using sunscreen outdoors.<\/p>\n
Dr Robertson encouraged people to check on vulnerable community members during prolonged periods of extreme heat.<\/p>\n
\u201cCheck in on neighbours, older relatives, friends and those who are unwell or living alone – a quick call or visit can make all the difference,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
BOM meteorologist Jessica Lingard said a severe heatwave was likely in Perth in the three days leading up to Christmas, with the mercury hitting 31C on Monday then 36C on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
PERTH WEATHER FORECAST<\/p>\n
Monday: Sunny, 17-31<\/p>\n
Tuesday: Sunny, 18-36<\/p>\n
Christmas Eve: Sunny, 21-39<\/p>\n
Christmas Day: Mostly sunny, 26-41<\/p>\n
Boxing Day: Partly cloudy, 23-30<\/p>\n
Saturday: Mostly sunny, 16-28<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If you thought earlier forecasts for Christmas Day were hot, then the latest outlook is sure to give…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":362355,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[5503,43,44,46,41,39,42,40,45,1192],"class_list":{"0":"post-362354","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-christmas","9":"tag-headlines","10":"tag-news","11":"tag-perth","12":"tag-top-news","13":"tag-top-stories","14":"tag-topnews","15":"tag-topstories","16":"tag-wa-news","17":"tag-weather"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362354","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=362354"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362354\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/362355"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=362354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=362354"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=362354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}