South Australia is set to swelter through Christmas Day, with hot and windy conditions delivering severe fire danger for much of the state.
The mercury is forecast to reach 38C in Adelaide on Friday, with strong northerly winds forecast throughout the morning.
A significant change is tipped to arrive mid-afternoon, bringing cooler temperatures and rain but also very gusty southerly winds and possible lightning storms.
The state's south-east is tipped to be most at risk of bushfire activity but firefighters will be on standby across the state to deal with any flare-ups.
Total fire bans have been declared for the northwest pastoral, northeast pastoral, west coast, eastern Eyre Peninsula, Flinders, mid north, Mount Lofty ranges, Yorke Peninsula, Riverland, Murraylands, upper south east and lower south east districts.
Residents in those districts have been banned from using wood and solid fuel barbecues, such as the popular Weber cooker, to prepare their Christmas lunch.
Anyone caught using a solid fuel barbecue without a local council permit faces a fine of up to $5000.
Country Fire Service state co-ordinator Leigh Miller says the forecast conditions are the worst he can recall for Christmas Day in almost 30 years.
"We don't need to have catastrophic conditions for bad fires to start," he told reporters.
"We've had many fires continue, throughout all the years we've been in the CFS, in conditions much less than what we're going to be facing on Christmas Day."
Bureau of Meteorology acting regional director John Nairn said Friday's forecast cool change should not be cause for complacency.
"What we're likely to see is that the most dangerous fire conditions are after the change comes through," he said.
