THE heat has already started to build across Queensland—yesterday’s maximum temperatures in the high 30s to low 40s—and we expect those conditions to persist through the weekend and into early next week.

The above video documents the Bureau’s three-day heatwave forecast.

The Bureau defines a ‘heatwave’ as three-days where the minimum and maximum temperatures are well above normal for those locations.

A very broad area is expected to experience severe heatwaves through Queensland and northern New South Wales.

Temperatures are expected to reach the mid-40s throughout central Australia during today, and those conditions will continue to move towards the east throughout the weekend.

Roma expecting five days at or above 40°C, and that hasn’t happened in December at Roma since back in 2009.

Overnight temperatures in many locations are not expected to drop below 20°C.

Now the heat will continue across the weekend, because of a high sitting out in the Tasman Sea.

It is not moving anywhere, and the next cold front bringing cold air up from the south is not expected until at least Tuesday, so heatwave conditions expected to continue in the east right through until Thursday.

Extreme heatwaves are rare, and can impact anyone who doesn’t take precautions to stay cool these conditions. Severe heatwaves can be very challenging for people with medical conditions, the young, the elderly, and people working outdoors.

Source: BOM. You can get all your heatwave information, including links to your State health departments, on the Bureau’s webpage, you can get all your latest forecasts and warnings on the BOM Weather app, and you can also get heatwave updates on Twitter.