<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?> <docID>337128</docID> <postdate>2025-01-28 17:02:47</postdate> <headline>Heatwave temps plummet as winds and hail roll in</headline> <body><p><img class="size-full wp-image-337129" src="https://citynews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/20210119001514558806-original-resized.jpg" alt="" width="900" height="601" /></p> <caption>A 'southerly buster' is set to bring a cool change to NSW along with the risk of severe storms. (Joel Carrett/AAP PHOTOS)</caption> <p class="wire-column__preview__author"><span class="kicker-line">By <b>Neve Brissenden, Alex Mitchell and Abe Maddison</b> in Sydney</span></p> <p><strong>Parts of the east coast have sweltered through heatwave temperatures above 40 degrees as strong winds continue to cause chaos over a storm-ridden summer.</strong></p> <p>Scorching conditions swept across Australia during the long weekend moving from South Australia and Victoria to NSW on Tuesday morning, with much of the state - including Sydney - recording temperatures in the high 30s or low 40s.</p> <p>Sydney Airport recorded a high of 43C while Penrith, Bankstown and Badgerys Creek also topped 40 degrees.</p> <p>Temperatures were in the high 30s for much of the Illawarra region with Nowra and Kiama reaching 39 degrees.</p> <p>Meteorologist Edward Townsend-Medlock said the heatwaves in the coastal areas were not as high as predicted due to an earlier-than-expected afternoon storm.</p> <p>"The lovely change that came through today came a little bit earlier than expected, stopping coastal areas from reaching their maximum forecast of 40 degrees," he told AAP.</p> <p>Temperatures dropped quickly on Tuesday afternoon, with Sydney Olympic Park falling from 41 to 29 degrees in less than an hour.</p> <p>"So in around two hours, temperatures have dropped around 10 to 15 degrees around the place," Mr Townsend-Medlock said.</p> <p>The cool change was a result of a severe storm moving up from the South Coast, likely to bring heavy wind, hail and lightning across Sydney and surrounding areas.</p> <p>A severe thunderstorm warning is in place for Gosford, Sydney, Penrith, Parramatta, Woy Woy and Kulnura.</p> <p>Winds began sweeping through Sydney's CBD around 3pm while hailstones fell in north Sydney just before 4pm.</p> <p>"Once we're in this new cooler air mass, those storms should subside," Mr Townsend-Medlock said.</p> <p>That follows similarly strong storms on Monday night, which resulted in 211 call-outs for the NSW State Emergency Service, the majority in metropolitan Sydney.</p> <p>The Australian Energy Market Operator has issued its lowest-tier warning for power supplies in NSW on Tuesday afternoon, encouraging industry participants to lift their output to meet expected demand.</p> <p>Parts of north Queensland are also expected to be hammered by rain on Tuesday resulting in the highest totals of the summer season.</p> <p>Severe weather warnings were issued by the Bureau of Meteorology for parts of the North Tropical Coast and Herbert and Lower Burdekin regions.</p> <p>Rainfall totals between 100mm-200mm are forecast between Gordonvale south of Cairns and Rollingstone, north of Townsville, with some isolated areas set to be saturated by nearly 300mm of rain.</p> <p>"We're expecting widespread daily totals in the 100mm to 200mm (range) over the next 24 hours, and isolated totals in the 200mm to 300mm possible, as well as flood watches and a few minor flood warnings current for that region as well," Senior Meteorologist Pieter Claassen told AAP.</p> <p>"This will be the wettest events forecast so far this summer."</p> <p>The Bureau is also monitoring a seven-day cyclone risk from the Indian Ocean to the Gulf of Carpentaria and into the Coral Sea.</p> <p>The Bureau said a tropical low in the Coral Sea has a 25-30 per cent chance of forming into a cyclone over the weekend and into next week.</p> <p>"It is likely, depending on where it moves to and forms, it may increase rainfall over parts of far northern Queensland particularly if it moves close to the coastline," he said.</p> <p>Large parts of Queensland, including the northwest, central west and channel country, reached temperatures in the low-mid 40s on Tuesday.</p> <p>Some towns in the WA's Pilbara, Gascoyne and north interior regions reached 46C on Tuesday.</p> <p>The NT interior also had a sweaty Tuesday, including in Alice Springs where temperatures soared to 43C.</p> </body>