Perth residents are being urged to prepare for a scorching festive season, with the Bureau of Meteorology now forecasting a blistering 40-degree Celsius peak on Christmas Day. This revised prediction, up from Thursday's forecast of 39C, confirms the city will be the nation's hottest capital as a severe heatwave descends down the Western Australian coast.
Weeklong Build-Up to Christmas Peak
The mercury is set to climb steadily throughout next week, turning Christmas Day into the fiery pinnacle of the weather event. The weekend will offer a final taste of pleasant conditions with temperatures in the high twenties. However, Monday will see a top of 31C, Tuesday 35C, and Christmas Eve a scorching 39C.
Meteorologist Jessica Lingard from the BoM stated a severe heatwave is "likely" for the three days leading up to Christmas and cautioned it could be upgraded to an extreme heatwave by week's end. "The combo of those three days with really warm nights, compared to what we’ve experienced in the last 30 days... will determine whether or not that’s a severe heat wave like what we’re expecting at the moment, or whether it bumps up to an extreme heat wave," Ms Lingard explained.
Little Relief from Sweltering Nights
The discomfort will extend well after sunset, with Christmas night offering minimal respite. The minimum temperature is predicted to dip only to a sweaty 25C, making for an oppressive night. The intense heat is being driven by a western trough that will become stalled over the coast, allowing heat to build across the Perth metropolitan area.
Ms Lingard noted that while severe, such conditions are not unheard of for a Perth Christmas. "We only have to go back a couple of years to get the really hot temperatures, 2021 we hit our record which was 42.8C, and the year before that it was 40.4C," she said. "All the way through summer we’re going to ride this rollercoaster of temperatures... going to heat up as the west coast trough forms and drags down the heat from further north."
Cool Change Arrives for Boxing Day
There is relief on the horizon, however. The trough is expected to move inland on Boxing Day, triggering a welcome cool change. The maximum temperature for December 26 is forecast to be a much more manageable 31C. "There is a nice cool change coming through as that trough moves inland, and we swap away from those hot, dry, northeasterly winds to a much cooler southwesterly so there is some relief on the forecast," Ms Lingard confirmed.
The meteorologist added that forecasters are closely monitoring the system's movement. "We’ll continue to monitor it and keep all our fingers and toes crossed that maybe that trough wants to move inland on Christmas Eve instead of Christmas Day." For now, Perth is set for a Christmas where seeking shade and taking a dip might be the most popular traditions of all.
