November heat record

Alex de Vos
The region has baked through a November heatwave record, according to a weather expert.
Geelong Weather Services’ Lindsay Smail said Wednesday marked the first time the region had recorded five consecutive November days above 30C.
He said residents could expect the region to heat up further with another burst of hot weather on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
“We’ve never had five days in a row – it’s a record for November,” Mr Smail said.
The “unusual” heat spell began on Saturday when the temperature hit 31.9C, he said.
Sunday climbed to 34.6C, Monday was the hottest day of the record spell at 34.9C, while Tuesday hit 33.6C and Wednesday reached 30.2C.
Mr Smail attributed the heatwave to a “southerly drift in high-pressure systems”.
“That tends to give southern Victoria more of the northern Victoria-type of weather,” he said.
“That’s been happening for the last 10 to 15 years and it’s one of the reasons why we think rainfall is in decline.
“However, we’ve had some good rain among those years but, generally speaking, that’s why it’s getting hotter.”
Mr Smail said the mercury was set to tip 27C this Friday, 31C on Saturday and 28C on Sunday.
“There’s a possibility of a thunderstorm on Saturday night because the atmosphere will be quite moist,” Mr Smail said.
“Next week we should get a run of cooler weather.”
Thousands of people flocked to the region’s beaches and pools to escape this week’s heat.
The heatwave also led to a rush on products to beat the heat, with electrical appliance retailer Ross Parke describing his Good Guys store as “nicely chaotic” this week.
“Summer has come very early – fans and air-conditioners are running out the door,” he said.