Geraldton gearing up for 40C heatwave this week, with February expected to be a warmer month

After a relatively mild start to the summer, the people of Geraldton need to brace for a heatwave this week, with temperatures expected to be near or soar past 40C on multiple days.

People are encouraged to ready themselves for a week of heat as a western trough remains stagnant, heating up coastal locations for the next five days.

Tuesday is expected to hit 37C, while Wednesday, Thursday and Friday are forecast to reach 42C. A cool change is then expected for the weekend, with 31C forecast for Saturday and 28C for Sunday.

Bureau of Meteorology meteorologist Jessica Lingard said the trough was a common part of WA summers but usually would move to the east pushing cooling winds.

“I’d describe it as an atmospheric traffic jam — something in the east is holding it up, preventing it from moving to the east which helps cool everything down,” she said.

The trough remaining on the western side means hot, dry air is being pushed onto the entire State, particularly coastal locations including the South West, Great Southern and parts of the Goldfields.

An extreme heatwave warning has been issued to parts of the Gascoyne region.

“It’s going to be a very warm week for most of the lower half of WA,” Ms Lingard said.

January was almost exactly on average, measuring an average monthly high of 31.8C, 0.4 degrees below the normal average of 32.2C.

Geraldton’s hottest day this summer has been 40.8C, which was recorded on December 19. If the forecasts are correct, the coming heatwave will break this record by 2C, two days in a row.

February is expected to be the warmest summer month, typically in the first half of the month.