Morning temperatures in Sydney on the fourth-last day of winter 2024 have climbed to nearly two degrees above the average midsummer maximum, as a surge of unseasonable warmth bakes the east coast.

• Just before midday, a reading of 28.2°C was recorded at Sydney Airport (where flights are being disrupted by winds gusting over 80 km/h). The airport's average August max is 18.5°C and the January average high is 26.7°C.
• By 1:00 pm, it had reached 29.4°C at the airport.
• On the fringe of the Sydney CBD, the Observatory Hill weather station had reached 27,5°C by 1pm, on the way to an expected maximum of 28°C.
• Further up the NSW coast, some truly remarkable temperatures for winter are being experienced. The North Coast seaside hamlet of Evans Head (population almost 3000) reached 34.3°C just after 1pm. Its average August maximum is 21.5°C.

The east coast warmth is being caused by strong northwesterly winds dragging dry air from inland regions while a cold front whips through southern parts, bringing bitterly cold conditions to Tasmania, with snow and subzero temps all day on kunanyi/Mt Wellington above Hobart.

Many coastal locations in NSW are now edging close to record-setting territory. The August record in Evans Head is 37.6°C while at Sydney Airport it's 31.1°C.

Those two weather stations, and several others, are now within two or three degrees of the warmest August day on record. We'll keep you posted.

Meanwhile Sydney will "cool down" to a maximum of 23°C on Thursday (which is still much warmer than the long-term average August max of 17.9°C) but should reach 29°C on Friday in a similar set-up to today, as northwesterlies strengthen ahead of another cold front down south.

As you can see, the synoptic chart for Friday (below) looks a lot like the one for today (above).