‘Scorcher’: Hottest day in two years

Thousands are expected to flock to beaches to find some relief as parts of Sydney are expected to hit 38C on Saturday.

Meteorologists have warned it could be the hottest day in more than a year.

Sky News Weather meteorologist Alison Osborne confirmed a hot and unsettled day is on the cards with temperatures set to climb into the low 40s in some parts of inland NSW.

Severe thunderstorms and gusty winds will be possible from Sydney down to the Victorian border.

“There won’t be too much in the way of rain, particularly inland, so there is an increased risk of grass fires,” Ms Osborne said.

It’s looking to be an uncomfortable night ahead as residents await a cool change due to roll through the Sydney area shortly after midnight.

The cool change will flush the heat out of most parts of inland NSW, though far north communities above Cobar and away from the coast can expect another “scorcher” on Sunday.

Meanwhile on the west coast, a severe to extreme heatwave is building and is set to stretch right across the Nullarbor Plain to South Australia by next week.

Forecasters have been unable to rule out the possibility that parts of WA could hit 50C early next week – which would mark only the second time this has happened in the month of February.

Perth will reach 34C over the weekend before cooling down slightly early into next week. The city isn’t expecting any rain for the next seven days.

The south of Australia will see heatwave conditions begin to ease on Saturday as a south-westerly wind begins to flush heat out of the Victoria and Tasmania.

Temperatures in Adelaide will hang around in the high 20s over the weekend before moving into 33C over Monday and Tuesday, climbing to sweltering highs of 38C through Wednesday and Thursday.

Canberra’s temperature will climb to 35C on Saturday as a possible storm moves in.

Queensland, which is still reeling from recent cyclone conditions, can expect monsoonal rains, bringing about the chance of heavy rainfall and flash flooding.

Brisbane will be partly cloudy and hover around 30C for the next seven days.

From Saturday onwards, Melbourne is expected to dip back into the 20s, with partly cloudy conditions for the next week.

Darwin will experience temperatures of around 32C every day until Thursday next week, with thunderstorms rolling in on Saturday and expected to persist until Thursday at least.

Hobart’s temperatures will begin to drop, bringing some possible showers on Saturday and Monday.