Perth and Darwin both saw record Christmas Day temperatures, although on opposite ends of the spectrum.

An intensely hot airmass drawn by a heat trough lingering over the west of Western Australia has been bringing an extreme heat wave to the west of the state over the Christmas period. It was the hottest Christmas day on record for: 

• Perth (42.8°C) 
• Kalbarri (46.5°C) - also the hottest December day recorded at the station 
• Geraldton Ap (47.3°C) - also the hottest day ever recorded at the station 
• Jurien Bay (46.0°C) - also the hottest day ever recorded at the station 
• Swanbourne (43.2°C) - also the hottest December day recorded at the station 
• Mandurah (41.0°C) - also the hottest December day recorded at the station 

This heat lingered overnight and into Boxing Day, bringing a maximum temperature of 43.5°C to Perth, and the hottest day on record to these stations: 

• Bunbury (41.0°C) 
• Rottness Island (42.5°C) 

Further north, a deepening tropical low to the west of Darwin was making for a particularly wet, cool and cloudy Christmas Day. The thick cloud cover and frequent heavy showers led to the coldest Christmas Day in Darwin on record, with a maximum of 27.3°C reached. 

Image: Himawari-8 Visible True Colour satellite imagery on Monday afternoon showing a mass of thick cloud associated with a tropical low crossing the Top End bringing below average temperatures 

The weather in Darwin and Perth is set to return closer to average as the week progresses with the tropical low crossing the Top End into the Gulf of Carpentaria. The trough in the west will also contract east and south, bringing some hot temperatures to Adelaide and Melbourne later this week.