Geraldton Airport records peak temperature of 39C, breaking 13-year record for city’s hottest September day

We’ve only just said goodbye to winter, and this Wednesday felt like the middle of summer had arrived early with Geraldton experiencing a record-breaking scorcher of a spring day. The mercury soared to 39C at 1.39pm on Wednesday, making it the hottest September day on record in Geraldton. According to the Bureau of Meteorology, the previous record was 36.1C on September 29m 2019 at the old airport site. Prior to that, 35.8C was recorded at the old town site on September 27, 1940. Families and visitors on school holidays took advantage of the extra sunshine on Wednesday, flocking to local beaches and the foreshore, before the temperature gauge dipped dramatically back to the high-20Cs on Thursday. A bureau spokesperson said the average September maximum temperature for Geraldton was 23.3C. Further afield, Morawa equalled its hottest September temperature on record, with 36.2C on the gauge on Wednesday. “Other places such as Mullewa may break their record but the bureau does not have an official observation site,” the spokesperson said. The reason for the unseasonal scorcher was a deep trough off the west coast bringing in hot temperatures down from inland parts of the north of the State, the spokesperson said. “These hot temperatures have been building over the last week, particularly over the Pilbara and have been brought further south by winds turning to the northeast,” they said.