The "rare occurrence" in Dubbo of six or more days of extreme heat is being repeated in the space of a year.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Residents sweltered across eight days of January 2019 when temperatures reached and exceeded 40 degrees Celsius including 44.3 degrees on January 16
The current six-day heatwave is expected to peak at 43 degrees on Saturday and Sunday.
Dubbo has not had heatwaves of the same ferocity and longevity since 2004.
READ ALSO:
According to Weatherzone meteorologist Kim Westcott six days or more of extreme heat were recorded at Dubbo City Regional Airport in January and February 2004.
Ms Westcott said there had been "nothing in between" then and now.
"It's a rare occurrence I guess in that perspective," she said.
On Tuesday, New Year's Eve, Dubbo's top temperature was forecast by Weatherzone to reach 40 degrees.
It was expected to be followed by 40 degrees on Wednesday, New Year's Day, 41 degrees on Thursday and Friday, and 43 degrees on Saturday and Sunday.
The meteorologist said Dubbo traditionally got "one or two" days in a row of 40-degree or higher temperatures during the summer.
"There's maybe the odd one with one to three days but six is pretty rare," Ms Westcott said.
She suggested December 2019 in Dubbo was possibly its hottest in the 23 years since an automatic weather station was installed at the airport.
"Temperatures for this month (December 2019) are well and truly above average, close to 4.4 degrees above the long-term average which is incredible," the meteorologist said.
The 44.9 degrees recorded in Dubbo on December 21, 2019, secured the record for the hottest day in December since 1993.
It was previously held by Christmas Eve 2017 when the city sizzled at 42.1 degrees.
The average maximum temperature in Dubbo in December is 31.5 degrees.
Ms Westcott said Dubbo and central Australia was currently under a "big dome of heat".
"It's so hot because we haven't had anything to cool it down yet," she said.
"There's been no tropical cyclone, no big band of clouds, no rain.
"The heat has been able to build over central Australia and there hasn't been anything big enough or strong enough to really move it along."