Several towns over the southwest of Western Australia celebrated their hottest Christmas Day in decades and even in more than a century for some locations.

Most people living in the Northern Hemisphere associate Christmas with cold and gloomy days, whereas in the Southern Hemisphere, this joyful period coincides with the beginning of summer. Therefore, it is not uncommon in Australia having a hot Christmas Day. However, the heat was unusually high for parts of southern Western Australia.

The mercury soared into 42 degrees in Esperance, the hottest Christmas Day since weather measurements started in 1907. Temperatures more than 8 degrees above average were also felt along the southwest coast. Perth (40 degrees) and Bunbury (38 degrees) saw their hottest Christmas Day in 13 and 55 years, respectively. Furthermore, Friday was the third consecutive day with maxima exceeding 40 degrees in Perth. 

The hot air mass is being replaced by much cooler air on Boxing Day as winds are turning south in the wake of a passing trough. Esperance should stay in the low 20s on Saturday. However, heat will intensify over the Goldfields. After a sleepless night in Kalgoorlie, with a minimum temperature of 27 degrees, the town is heading for a top in the low 40s before a rapid cooling arrives later in the day.

Image: Maximum temperatures forecast on Boxing Day according to ACCESS-C.

A trough will develop near the west coast early next week, drawing heat from the north across the region. This will lead to another spell of heat, although shorter and not as intense as the last few days.