Temperature records fell in Australia on Wednesday as parts of NSW reached into the high 30s and fierce winds battered Victoria's south-east.
The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) had forecast a possible high of 39C across Sydney on Wednesday, with the previous October heat record set at 38.1C at Sydney Airport in 2004.
In western parts of the city, maximum October temperature records were broken, with temperatures reaching about 40C in Penrith and Bankstown.
Sydney’s Observatory Hill recorded 36.6C at 3pm.
Earlier on Wednesday, BoM meteorologist Angus Hines told SBS News he wouldn't rule out parts of NSW "brushing" 40C.
"The temperatures we're talking about for this week, mid-40s and central parts, high-30s in eastern parts — those are kind of the temperatures that you would expect to see in a summer heat wave.
"To see temperatures stretch up into those very high echelons, those very, very high numbers, it's unusual."
Record temperatures were set for this time of year across the state, including in Gosford (38.1), Taree (40.8), Williamtown (39.3) and the Sydney suburb of Terrey Hills (37.2C).
Fire and severe weather warnings
Nearly 14,000 Victorians have been left without power due to outages caused by severe weather.
The Victorian State Emergency Service (SES) has been inundated with more than 400 requests for assistance for storm damage across the state, with nearly half of those calls regarding fallen trees.
"As the winds continue to pass through, stay indoors and avoid travel unless absolutely necessary," the SES said in a post on Facebook.
The organisation said it was expecting winds to "hit hardest" on Wednesday afternoon from 2-6pm.
The BoM said strong winds were set to spread eastwards across the state.
In NSW, extreme winds meant total fire bans were declared for the regions of Greater Sydney, Greater Hunter, Illawarra and the upper central west plains regions.
By Wednesday afternoon, there were about 35 fires burning across the state, with about nine burning uncontrolled. None were burning at an emergency level.
Hines warned high temperatures, dry bush and wind gusts meant the fire danger was extreme. Any fire started would "spread very quickly".
The BoM has also issued a severe weather warning for damaging winds across south-east NSW, expected to ease on early Thursday morning.
NSW authorities warned walking tracks and remote campgrounds in national parks across the areas could be closed "at short notice" if conditions worsen on Wednesday.
Heatwave a 'one-and-done'
The heatwave will be short-lived, with Sydney's temperature expected to drop "significantly" on Thursday to 22C.
"It's really a one-and-done. A very hot day today, but we'll see the wind change by tomorrow," Hines said.
Where is the heat coming from?
Hines said Sydney was "latest in the line" to experience near-record temperatures over the past few days after a "bubble" of heat that formed over the Pilbara region in Western Australia over the weekend was pulled eastwards.
"It was very, very hot over the outback yesterday and today we continue to see that pool of hot air getting dragged eastwards by the wind," he said.
Changes in wind patterns are pulling hot air to new areas, leading to increased temperatures, as seen this week in South Australia, Queensland, and NSW.
Queensland set its warmest ever October temperature on Tuesday, with 46.1C recorded in the outback town of Birdsville, while Burke in NSW hit 44.8C.
"We're reaching temperatures in some places that we've never reached before at this time of year. Even if we're not setting records, we're getting close," Hines said.
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