While about 75 per cent of the state is sweltering through a heatwave, a tropical cyclone raging off the Pilbara coast is expected to intensify to a category four system.
While about 75 per cent of the state is sweltering through a heatwave, a tropical cyclone raging off the Pilbara coast is expected to intensify to a category four system.
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By Holly Thompson and Sarah Brookes
Updated January 20, 2025 — 6.23pmfirst published at 10.19am
As a cyclone intensifies off the West Australian coast, Perth has sweltered through near-record high temperatures across the metropolitan area, with overnight temperatures forecast to hover at 29 degrees on Monday night.
Monday night’s minimum will rival a record overnight minimum of 29.7 degrees set in 2014.
The eastern suburbs were the hottest places in the metro area, with Pearce recording a high of 45.5 degrees while in Gooseberry Hill the mercury hit 43 degrees. Perth Airport recorded a maximum temperature of 44 degrees.
The hottest temperature ever recorded in the Perth metro area was 46.2 degrees on February 23, 1991.
Across the state, the mercury in Geraldton hit 49.3, the equal highest recorded temperature for the coastal regional city.
The state is preparing for a heatwave to last through the week and temperatures will remain high until Sunday when the maximum drops to 29 degrees.
Bureau of Meteorology duty forecaster Jessica Lingard said a severe heatwave warning covered about 50 per cent of the state, while a low intensity heatwave warning covered another 25 per cent.
She said the high of 44 degrees in Perth was on track to be the hottest January temperature recorded in a decade – the CBD hit 44.4 degrees on January 5, 2015.
“What will really kick this heatwave up a notch is the overnight minimums sticking in the mid-to-high 20s,” she said.
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A west coast trough is driving the heatwave, pushing high temperatures further south.
This is the third heatwave Perth has experienced this summer, with the city facing an average of five heatwaves each year.
The bureau has also forecast hotter-than-average temperatures for Perth in February.
Premier Roger Cook urged the community to keep cool by seeking out places with air conditioning and to check on vulnerable friends or family members.
Meanwhile, Tropical Cyclone Sean has formed off the Pilbara coast, with severe winds and heavy rain wreaking havoc in the coastal town of Karratha over the weekend as the system strengthened to a category 3.
Karratha Airport has recorded more than 274 millimetres of rain since 9am on Sunday, breaking the record for the highest rainfall in a single day that was previously set in 2006.
Another 100 millimetres of rainfall is predicted again on Monday, but the town is now outside the cyclone warning zone.
Lingard said the cyclone was likely to be upgraded to a category four on Monday evening, and would remain a severe storm throughout the day, before calming down on Tuesday as it moved south-west into cooler waters away from the coast.
“There is a slight chance that across the weekend we could see some rainfall in Perth associated with the decaying remains of this system as it makes its way across southwestern parts of WA,” she said.
Karratha resident Cathy Gallagher told 9News Perth that the downpipes at her home were overflowing and there had been some flooding in the area.
“I noticed a lot of the locals have brought sandbags,” she said.
Cook said there had been no reports yet of any significant damage.
“We know cyclones are unpredictable. Sometimes they do what they like, not what the Bureau of Meteorology predicts, so please stay tuned to your emergency services outlets and make sure that you are doing everything you can to keep yourself safe,” he said.
“We’re not anticipating having to deploy extra emergency services, but we stand ready.”
The cyclone warning extends from Mardie to Ningaloo, including Exmouth, Barrow Island and Onslow. Winds near the centre of the storm have hit 130 kilometres per hour with gusts up to 180 kilometres per hour.
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Holly Thompson is a journalist with WAtoday, specialising in education.Connect via Twitter or email.
Sarah Brookes is a journalist with WAtoday, specialising in property and government and is the winner of four WA Media Awards.Connect via email.
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