Here we go again...

[Bluenose]

Weather across southern and central Australia has been very hot of late with temperature in many places topping 47-48°C (116-118°F).  One location in South Australia reached 51.2°C (124°F), only 0.2° below the all time Australian record.  Today in Melbourne was a lot less hot than yesterday, when it got to 43°C, but it's predicted to go back above 40°C for the next five days or so and there is a good chance the Australian record high temperature may be exceeded in some inland locations.

There have already been some fairly severe bushfires, especially in Tasmania where a couple of towns have been badly effected in scenes reminiscent of the fires in Victoria on Black Saturday in 2009.  Fortunately, at the moment there have been no confirmed fatalities.  Last night approximately 1,000 people were evacuated by sea from the Tasman Peninsular as the fires had completely cut off the peninsular at Eaglehawk Neck.  However, news reports to hand indicate that the main highway has just recently been re-opened.  The fire services across Tasmania, Victoria, South Australia and southern New South Wales are bracing for the next few days.  There is a large pool of very hot air over the continent at the moment and in southern regions strong, hot and dry northerly winds are forecast.  The country has dried out after a couple of years of strong vegetation growth due to substantial rains and so now it is much like the clichéd tinder box.  The potential for very bad fires is frighteningly real.  Lets just hope we can get through this without anything further happening.  But I wouldn't be betting on it...

[Griffin NoName]

Ouch! As I said in another thread, fire seems the scariest of all weather threats. I don't know how true that is as I have no direct experience of the worst weather effects as the UK so far has minimal events, though the recent flooding is bad enough, I think there's been just 1 person killed. I hope you get through this unscathed.

[Opsa]

Scary! I do hope you get some decent rain, Blue, as soon as possible. We'll be thinking about you.

[Aggie]

Good luck, mate!

I come from a fire-ecology area (the Kelowna fires a couple of years back were bad, but nowhere near Aussie levels), but 43°C is about the top-out here. That kind of heat itself can be life-threatening, never mind the fires. Add those it, and it's interesting times indeed.

[Sibling DavidH]

Scary!  We've been watching the Tasmanian fires on the telly.  Good luck, Bob, may it stay well away from you.

[Bluenose]

Well, it's unlikely that Casa del Blue will come under any threat but I can't say the same for many of my fellow countrymen.  Keeping my fingers, arms legs and eyes crossed...

[Griffin NoName]

Only 27 degrees in Sydney according to my spies.

[Bluenose]

Yeah, temperatures for Melbourne have also been a bit lower than originally expected, 32 today, 35 tomorrow and low 30s down to mid 20s for the rest of this week.  However, north and west of here is still reckoned to reach at least the mid 40s, so we're no where out of the woods yet.  Sydney seems to missing out on most of it this time, no doubt they'll get their turn later on in the season.

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

We've been in the high 30's to the mid 40's hereabouts, with an occasional spike into the 50's. 

And then... it hit me... you're using Celsius, not Fahrenheit...  and .. wow, that's hot. 

I thought Oklahomer summers were bad enough at 115+ (F) in the shade... but our humidity is always over-the-top, so dryness isn't a big deal in the north-west part of my state (where I live).  However, out west, the humidity has been consistently low, and many farmers are quitting the business due to crop failure year after year--no rain. 

As already said?  Interesting Times.

[Opsa]

Yeesh! I think I'd prefer mundane times.

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

Indeed, Opsa-- the older I get, the more mundane I like it.

I was in an eatery the other day, and ran across a policeman, and we were chatting it up about the weather (which has been weird, for January).  As he left, I wished for him to have an uneventful evening.  He grinned really big, and said with genuine enthusiasm, "thank you. I hope so too".

[Opsa]

I like that!

Saw some footage of awful fires in Australia on the news. I hope Blue and everyone are safe.

[Bluenose]

Hi guys, yes, we're all OK.  As for the rest of the country, so far there have been no fatalities that I am aware of.  There have been quite a lot of homes destroyed including one very historic homestead here in Victoria.  The Clan Blue has not been effected by any of the fires, of which there have been a great number.  My aunt is a volunteer for the New South Wales State Emergency Service and has been working in the control room for the fires on the south coast of NSW.  The SES provide support for the emergency services such as running the communications systems, and other support to the front line.  Apparently it was pretty hectic there a couple of days ago with some large out of control fires threatening the town of Sussex Inlet.  A pretty little place that I spent a lot of time at as a kid.  The fire has not yet been brought under control but changes in the weather have reduced the threat. 

Here is a photo from the fire in question:

[pieces o nine]

Those kinds of pictures always amaze me, Blue; the reports on how much acreage burned are always amazing as well.  Bravo for your aunt!  Keep safe and keep us updated.

[Bluenose]

Well a large proportion of the country is gearing up for another shocker of a day tomorrow.  There are still a lot of quite large out of control fires pretty much across the whole country.  Extremely high temperatures and up to gale force winds are forecast.  I'll keep you guys informed what's going on, but if you don't hear from me over the next few days, don't panic - I'm going to be very busy with work and getting ready for a BBQ for the day after Blue Jr's wedding on the 25th.  I'll do my best to pop in as time allows.