Christmas Day will be a hot and sweaty affair for Australia’s western and southern states – but much of the east coast will miss out on the balmy weather.
Come December 25, Adelaide residents who enjoy hotter temperatures will be elated, with the mercury set to rise to as high as 37C.
Following Christmas celebrations, the City of Churches will then be blessed with a string of days in the 30s and glorious sunshine.
Over in Perth, cold drinks will be the order of the day, with the temperature expected to be as high as 30C.
In Darwin, residents can expect tropical conditions and 34C at its peak, with the heat eventually replaced by showers next Saturday.
But Sydneysiders can keep the sun umbrella inside, with the mercury unlikely to exceed 25C on Christmas and rain forecast.
With Christmas Day looming, weather experts have forecast sunny conditions for much of Australia on December 25 (pictured, a local at Coogee in Sydney’s east donning a Santa hat)
Sydney can expect only a high of 25C on Christmas Day – and late showers (pictured, a couple making the most of Sydney’s hot weather on Saturday at Bondi Beach)
The sun is tipped to be out in most capital cities come Christmas Day, with only Sydney and Darwin expected to see inclement weather (pictured, the official forecast from Weather Zone)
The good news for those who call the Harbour City home is the inclement weather isn’t expected until late in the day.
Brisbane is tipped to nudge towards 30C and be typically muggy, with Canberra expected to record temperatures in the high 20s.
Melbourne, famed for its ‘four seasons in one day’, will reach a high of 29C, while in Hobart it is expected to be overcast, and at least 21C.
Sky News Weather senior meteorologist Tom Saunders said over the festive season it is vital to keep an eye on changing weather patterns, which can quickly throw plans into disarray.
‘Forecasting the weather several days out when the (weather) systems are immobile is relatively straightforward,’ he told news.com.au.
‘That’s not the case right now and it’s making the forecast for Christmas tricky to pin down.
‘We have a trough potentially sweeping across southern Australia which (quickly) introduces a cool change and a showers and storm scenario.’
Earlier on Saturday in Sydney, thousands of sun worshippers ignored rising Covid case numbers to hit the surf, sand and beachside cafes, as temperatures soared.
With the mercury hitting 29C in the CBD and 37C at Penrith in the west, it finally started to feel like summer in Australia’s biggest city.
Countless Sydneysiders took the chance to peel off the layers and flock to eastern and northern beaches.
Thousands of sun worshippers ignored rising Covid case numbers in Sydney to hit the sand (pictured) and beachside cafes as temperatures soared into the 30s on Saturday
Sydneysiders took the chance to peel off the layers and flock to the beaches and surf-side eateries everywhere on Saturday, including Bondi, Bronte, Coogee and Manly
Scores of residents were in no mood for yet another reason to stay home, packing beaches from Manly to Bondi and Coogee.
It comes after NSW suffered its worst day of Covid-19 cases since the pandemic began nearly two years ago, with 2,482 new infections announced on Saturday.
Sunday is predicted to get even hotter, though a storm could hit in the afternoon.
The Bureau of Meteorology is predicting ‘fast moving storms’ to cool things down across Sydney on Sunday afternoon.
‘It could possibly get up to 40 within the Sydney basin tomorrow but that’s dependent on the thunderstorms coming through,’ said forecaster Jackson Browne.
It wasn’t just Sydney where the sun came out to play – in Western Australia’s Pilbara region, temperatures could reach a scorching 50C while Marble Bar is forecast to reach 49C
The ocean was the best place to be in Sydney on Saturday, as temperatures soared above 30C (pictured, surf life savers at Coogee in Sydney’s east)
‘Those could potentially bring some large hail but it will be a short sharp affair because of how quickly these storms will be moving.’
Elsewhere, severe heatwave conditions brought ‘oppressive’ conditions to northern parts of Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland on Saturday.
WA’s Pilbara region could see temperatures brew close to a scorching 50C while Marble Bar is forecast to reach 49C this weekend – making it the hottest December on record.
Severe fire danger warnings have been issued for parts of WA and SA, with fire danger warnings also in place for parts of Victoria and NSW on Saturday, as temperatures soared across major cities Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne.
It’s going to be a quintessentially hot and sweaty Christmas in some parts of the country, according to Weatherzone.
While large areas of Australia were kept unusually cool during November by frequent spells of cloud and rain, December has been noticeably clearer and drier for much of the country.
Temperatures will gradually climb in Adelaide throughout the week with the city possibly seeing the mercury hitting 36-37C on Christmas Day, which would make it the city’s hottest Christmas in three years and one of its five hottest Christmas Days in the last 35 years.
WA and Victoria are both shaping up to be warm on Christmas Day, with temperatures possibly reaching the low-thirties in Perth and Melbourne, while reaching the high-thirties in Victoria’s northwest.
Australia’s eastern capital cities look like they will escape a hot Christmas this year, with onshore winds likely to limit daytime heating and increase the likelihood of showers.
At this stage, Hobart will most likely be dry and reach the mid-twenties on Christmas Day, while Darwin has a chance of rain and thunderstorms.
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