Weather News

High pressure blocking any relief for inland SA

Craig McIntosh, Sunday February 7, 2016 - 12:22 AEDT

A stubborn high pressure system currently squatting over the Great Australian Bight is the main culprit for rising temperatures across country SA.

Often referred to as a blocking high, it deflects cold fronts to the south, enabling air masses over land to heat up. This, combined with the southeasterly winds it is generating over SA, is going to push the mercury well up the thermometer in coming days. Adelaide and other coastal areas will escape the heat due to winds coming off the ocean. The story is different north of the coast as the air dries up and desert heat takes hold.

Roxby Downs is likely to have temperatures of 40-42 degrees for the next 4 days. Humidity will be low, dropping to about 10% at times.

The next 6 days in Oodnadatta are unlikely to have a maximum temperature less than 39 degrees. The sun will be beating down and humidity will be low, also down to about 10%, so mouths will be drying out all over town.

The heat is lagging in Ernabella as the winds make their way from east to west. This coming working week is looking like the mercury will just fall short of the 40 degree mark, however that should change by next Saturday. The start of the weekend is forecast to get to 41 with sunny skies and very low humidity.

This high pressure system is also partly responsible for the ensuing heatwave in parts of WA, so the longer this system lazes about in the Bight, the longer we can expect hot days across many parts of SA.

- Weatherzone

© Weatherzone 2016

Enter a postcode or town name for local weather, or text to search the site. » advanced search

Weather News

» all stories

Bonsoy Gold Coast Pro surf forecast

07:00 AEST After an emotional mid-year cut at the Margaret River Pro surf competition in Western Australia last week, surfers that fell below the cut line, along with up-and-coming talent, will be battling it out on the Gold Coast from this weekend onwards. The first stop on the Challenger Series (the lesser format of the Championship Tour) will take place along the Gold Coast’s premier surf point breaks, starting this morning and running to Saturday May 4th.