The temperature will gradually rise in the coming week, before it hits 38 degrees on Thursday, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

It’ll also be a humid day with a 30 per cent chance of showers.

Saturday is expected to be 29 degrees. It’s the only day in the next week expected to be under 30.

In Nyngan and Cobar the mercury has been forecast to hit 40 on Thursday. While it Bourke it’s expected to hit 42 degrees. Orange will only reach 32 degrees.

The mean maximum temperature for December in Dubbo is 31 degrees.

For the past 25 years there’s been an average of five days where it has rained during the month. Between 1993 and 2017 an average of 62.8 millimeters of rain has fallen in December.