Rugby lovers are being warned this year’s NRL Grand Final could be the hottest on record, with forecasters expecting temperatures at Olympic Park to break Spring heat records and keep players and punters sweating well into the evening.
WeatherZone expects max temperatures to reach 36 degrees on Sunday as the Penrith Panthers and Brisbane Broncos face off for trophy glory.
“Parts of western Sydney are forecast to reach around 36 degrees on Sunday October 1 and 37 to 38 degrees on Tuesday,” WeatherZone states.
“If any Greater Sydney weather station exceeds 37.3 degrees in the first three days of October, it will be the Sydney Basin’s highest temperature on record this early in spring.”
WeatherZone states if temperatures climb above 34.6 degrees on Sunday, it would be Sydney’s hottest day on record this early in Spring.
“The impending burst of warmth comes less than two weeks after Sydney and other areas of southeastern Australia experienced record-breaking September temperatures during another early-season heatwave,” the weather service states.
The Broncos-Panthers dust-up is booked for 7.30pm at Accor Stadium, but some 80,000 punters will begin entering the gates at 1pm.
WeatherZone predicts the temperature to hover around 30 degrees at the 7.30pm kick-off.
NRL head of football Graham Annesley said the league was “ready for any circumstances” as they face down Sunday’s brutal heat.
Fire warning
The Northern Territory is also staring down a blast of heat and fire danger warnings.
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued fire warnings for the Darwin and Adelaide River, Gregory South East and Barkly North districts.
“Warm and dry with moderate to fresh and gusty northeast to south-easterly winds across most parts of the Territory,” BOM states in its warning.
“Winds combined with high fuel loads will result in elevated fire dangers in the Barkly North, Darwin and Adelaide River and Gregory South East fire weather district.”
Catastrophic Fire Danger is forecast for Barkly North while Extreme Fire Danger is forecast for the Darwin and Adelaide River and Gregory South East.
NT Fire and Rescue Service has advised residents to immediately action their bushfire survival plans.
Temperatures are forecast to hover around 34 and 35 degrees through to Monday.
The National Breakdown
Other parts of the country will also face steadily warming temperatures.
BOM forecasts a max temperature of 31 degrees to hit Adelaide on Saturday while Brisbane will experience temperatures in the high twenties.
Perth will enjoy a cooler weekend, with max temperatures forecast to reach 22 degrees on Saturday and 21 degrees on Sunday.