NSW heatwave: Sydney reaches second hottest November day on record

Friday November 20, 2015 - 22:09 EDT



There is relief in sight, with a southerly change expected to come through later in the afternoon. - ABC



Sydney has recorded its second hottest November day with temperatures reaching 40.9 Celsius at 3:05pm, as heatwave conditions grip much of New South Wales.



By 2:28pm, Penrith, in the city's west, reached 41.9C while the Observatory Hill weather station recorded 40.9C by 3:05pm.



The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) said westerly winds pushed temperatures up by 7C in just 10 minutes in the city.



The BoM said Sydney's hottest November day on record was 41.8C, set in 1982.







It reached 40.7C at Bankstown, 41.5 at Holsworthy and 40.5 at Williamtown, in the Hunter.



In Gosford, on the Central Coast, it was 40.8C, and parts of western NSW had also exceeded 40C.



Sydney Airport recorded a temperature of 42.8C at 3:09pm.



Firefighters across the state, who battled several small blazes, warned that strong winds and low humidity levels were exacerbating the fire risk.



A grassfire near Goulburn, on the state's southern tablelands, temporarily .



A fire at a Transgrid substation in Sydney's south-west.



Transgrid said the heatwave had put the grid under heavy strain.



A for damaging winds in the Illawarra, Southern Tablelands, Riverina and Snowy Mountains was extended late this morning to include another five NSW districts, including the Sydney metropolitan area.



The weather bureau warned of possible gales over the southern ranges, southern inland and central parts of the coast.



Earlier, firefighters contained a blaze at Marinna, north of Junee in the Riverina region, which burnt out 19 hectares.







The RFS said about 20 fire trucks were sent to the scene.



Meanwhile, firefighters were called to a small bushfire at Simmo's Beach at Macquarie Fields, in Sydney's south-west.



They said no properties were under threat.



RFS commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said he was expecting a "problematic" day.



"Later this afternoon the temperatures will get up into the 40s, the humidities will be less than 10 per cent and the winds will strengthen," he said.



"We are expecting to see winds up to and above 90kph today across some of the most at-risk areas.



"It's going to be really challenging.



"Fortunately at the moment we've got the upper hand on our fires but as I say, we've got a long way to go."







Farmers down tools to reduce risk



Farmers in parts of the Riverina, and other hot and dry areas of the state, were asked to cease harvesting to reduce the fire risk.







"The crops are precious," RFS commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said.



"We saw yesterday a harvester catch fire. It was badly damaged or destroyed in a fire about 50km west of Albury.



"It is a real risk."



Another fire, at the Blue Mountains town of Hazelbrook, was brought under control after emergency crews were called to the scene at about 3:00am.



Police are investigating the possibility it was deliberately lit.



Total fire bans are in place for the Illawarra/Shoalhaven, the Southern Ranges, and the eastern, southern and northern Riverina.



The Riverina districts were classified as having an extreme fire danger, while the Illawarra and Shoalhaven were listed as severe.





- ABC



© ABC 2015

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