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Extreme heat and intense wildfires have swept through the dry landscape of Western Australia. As mercury levels forecast to continue climbing above 40C (104F) over the coming days, a major heatwave warning has been declared across much of the southwestern region.

Broad Extreme Heat Alerts Across the Region

This situation come after recent bushfires in New South Wales, which caused the loss of properties and loss of life. Intense heat alerts have additionally been activated for the coming days in parts of South Australia and New South Wales, as a system of high pressure moves eastward, delivering intense sunshine to a broad swath of the area.

The mix of tinder-dry vegetation and relentless heat presents a volatile scenario for firefighters.

Worldwide Climatic Events Cause Chaos

In another part of the world, a metropolis was left in blackout recently after powerful gusts compromised the urban power grid, with falling trees knocking out power lines. The weather conditions also led to major travel disruption at a key airport, where hundreds of air services were grounded. Substantial damage to power systems is expected to cause further problems as service providers scramble to reconnect electricity to more than 1 million residents.

Atypical Fog Covers Sunny Region

Meanwhile, a valley known for its sunny weather and plentiful sunshine has endured one of its dullest and most overcast periods on recorded history. A particular form of low cloud, which typically lasts for only a short time, has been unusually extensive and persistent this year, keeping the mercury at a key transport hub below 8C for over a week – the longest such streak in over three decades. The extended fog has been driven by exceptional fall rainfall that left the ground waterlogged.

• Primary Driver: Record fall rains soaked the ground.
• Result: Prolonged and dense mist formation.
• Effect: Thermal readings remained below average for an lengthy period.

Severe Weather Brings Snow to Holiday Islands

Turning to another country, a weather system has ushered in heavy rainfall, powerful winds and even snowfall to a set of islands – weather many would not connect with this favored holiday destination. While snow is not unheard of at elevated areas, the system brought some of the heaviest accumulations in 2016 to a national park, forcing its closure.

In addition to the snowfall, strong winds from the north swept across the island chain, with gusts reaching 50mph recorded on multiple islands. The effect of the weather event is forecast to diminish this week with more seasonal conditions taking hold.