A burst of late-summer heat has just produced Melbourne’s first 40ºC day in more than three years, ending a spell of sub-40ºC days not seen for half a century.

The temperature was off to a fast start in Melbourne on Friday, already reaching 30ºC by 9:00am as northerly wind pushed warm inland air across the city.

Image: Forecast maximum temperature over Victoria on Friday, according to the ACCESS-C model.

By 1:00pm the mercury had risen to 37ºC in the city and then at 3:47pm, Melbourne hit 40.5ºC.

This is the first time Melbourne has reached 40ºC since January 31, 2020, meaning the city just experienced 1112 consecutive days below 40ºC. This is the longest stretch of days below 40ºC in 50 years, since the record-breaking 1790 day run that started on February 26, 1968 and went until January 3, 1973.

Friday’s uncomfortable heat came to an abrupt end when a cool southwesterly change reached Melbourne shortly before 4pm, dropping the temperature by 13ºC in 20 minutes.

Temperatures will remin lower in the wake of Friday afternoon’s change, with Saturday only forecast to reach a top of 23ºC in Melbourne.