A quick post flagging some incoming heat. We’ve got a trough moving slowly towards us. As is usual at this time of year the trough will drag in some heat from inland as it approaches…but this time around the trough is going to slow down before reaching us, keeping that heat overhead for a number of days.

We’ll kick off with how today went – pretty warm but not that hot for this time of year:

…but by the time we hit tomorrow the heat will be on its way in. Here’s the max forecast temps for Friday:

…Saturday:

…Sunday:

…and Monday:

Yep, four days of increasing heat. Relief should arrive for Tuesday, with max temps a lot lower:

The BoM has an extreme heatwave warning out for the Mid North Coast for Fri / Sat / Sun right now – expect to see that extended into Monday:

Worth flagging that with a very slow moving trough only a small change in speed could bring the change through earlier, giving us a cooler day Monday…or later with that heat lingering until later on Tuesday. It’s going to be humid at times as well. The combination of heat, humidity and an approaching trough will bring the risk of storms, most likely on the hills but possible anywhere. Here’s the current lightning forecast for Saturday:

…Sunday:

…Monday:

We’re not looking at widespread totals from storms – it’ll be a case of sit under one and you’ll see a big total, with some places seeing storms across a couple of days, while others, particularly closer to the coast, see significantly less.

Looking further ahead and it looks like we’ll see an onshore flow developing post-trough as we head into Christmas Day and Boxing Day. With very warm ocean temps…for example here’s the forecast for Christmas Eve:

…we’ll see a good chance of some onshore showers rolling in, perhaps giving some decent totals over a couple of days before an incoming ridge dries things off once again. Before then we’ve got the heat – stay cool and look after the animals.