The western suburbs of Sydney have sweltered through the hottest October on record.
Sydney, as a whole, experienced its second hottest on record behind 1988.
WeatherZone’s Rob Sharpe said the hot, dry October sun, followed record-breaking temperatures in winter and September.
‘‘The Sydney suburbs of Richmond, Prospect, Parramatta and Badgerys Creek all had their warmest October in terms of daytime temperatures in their history,’’ Mr Sharpe said.’’
The average temperature for October was 27.8 degrees, 4.1 degrees above the long-term average at Prospect.
In Parramatta, the monthly average was 27 degrees, 3.2 degrees above average.
The average was 28.4 degrees in Richmond, 3.5 degrees above average.
The highest temperature of the month at the Prospect weather station was 36.8 degrees, 13.1 degrees above average.
The highest temperature at Parramatta was 37 degrees, 13.2 degrees above average.
Richmond reached 36.6 degrees, 11.7 degrees above average.
Mr Sharpe said the hot, dry weather stretched across NSW and Queensland.
‘‘In NSW, Katoomba and Newcastle also set similar records, however, as many will know the Blue Mountains barely received any rain,’’ he said.
‘‘Katoomba only recorded a meagre 6mm, its driest October in over 120 years of records.''
Prospect Dam received 9.7mm of rainfall for the month, far below the long-term average of 59.1mm.
A little more than 14mm of rain fell at Parramatta, also short of the 69.2mm monthly average.
‘‘In terms of rainfall, both NSW and Queensland fared poorly with barely a location recording more than the long-term average,’’ Mr Sharpe said.
‘‘Some locations in Queensland failed to receive a drop as the drought continues across much of the state.
‘‘Looking ahead to November and heat will continue to build, as storms become more prevalent.
‘‘Rainfall is still unfortunately likely to be below average for most of each state, however, those on the tropical coast of Queensland could see near-average falls as southeasterly winds look to become more dominant.’’
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