Get ready for a string of days above 30 degrees celsius as Dubbo prepares for its first warm spell during what is likely to be a dry and hot spring and summer.
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The Bureau of Meteorology forecasts temperatures will reach 31 degrees on two consecutive days in across Saturday, September 16 and Sunday, September 17.
The temperature is then set to become hotter with 32 degrees forecast for Monday, September 18, 31 degrees on Tuesday, September 19 and 33 degrees on Wednesday, September 20.
These temperatures are a full 10 degrees above average for this time of year, with September's average temperature being 20.8 degrees.
Weatherzone meteorologist James Rout said though it'll be hot, it won't qualify as a heat wave because the minimum overnight temperatures won't be hot enough.
"The overnight temperatures will only be a few degrees hotter than normal. In a heatwave, both the maximum and minimum temperatures are well above normal," Mr Rout told the Daily Liberal.
![Jai O'Toole, life guard at Dubbo Aquatic Leisure Centre, gets ready for the season after the pool opened on Saturday, September 2, 2023. Picture by Belinda Soole Jai O'Toole, life guard at Dubbo Aquatic Leisure Centre, gets ready for the season after the pool opened on Saturday, September 2, 2023. Picture by Belinda Soole](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/QQwHRnUv9qYdvjDNLdqaup/e8ffa9fe-8c7e-48fd-b71f-093179ec8ecc.jpg/r0_184_3600_2216_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"If your body gets hot during the day and stays hot overnight it puts stress on the body but if it cools down overnight it gives you a chance to recover."
The reason for the heat over the coming week is cold fronts covering southern Australia - and one in particular crossing South Australia - which will bring hot air from western and central Australia into NSW.
"The first front will bring hot air into NSW and high pressures over NSW and it'll allow the hot air to stay there and also plenty of sunshine - that's when you get warm days," Mr Rout said.
The warmer weather is forecast to stick around until around Wednesday, September 20 and then on Thursday, September 21 there is likely to be another front crossing NSW that will bring a cool change.
The cooler temperatures - which are actually average for this time of year - will likely remain until Saturday, September 23 and Sunday, September 24. Another warm front could come around after that, Mr Rout said.
The coming string of 30-plus-degree days are not only unusual for September, they are also unusual for October, when the average temperature is 25 degrees.
The highest September temperature on record is 34.4 degrees on September 26, 1965, and the highest minimum temperature for September is 18 degrees on September 18, 1937.
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The upcoming warm days are unlikely to exceed the September record, however the minimum temperature on Wednesday, September 20 could get close to the record, the meteorologist said.
This year's spring and summer seasons are likely to be warmer and dryer than the previous two years, according to the Bureau. The department has not yet declared an El Nino though this has been declared in other parts of the world.
Mr Rout said a positive Indian Ocean Dipole - another climate driver which was present in Spring 2019, the year of the black summer bush fires - has not yet been declared but conditions were "on track to become positive".
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