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Extreme heat and raging bushfires have devastated the parched landscape of Western Australia. As temperatures forecast to continue soaring above 40C (104F) over the next few days, a severe alert for extreme heat has been declared across a large portion of the southwestern region.

Widespread Extreme Heat Warnings Throughout the Region

These conditions come after this month's bushfires in New South Wales, which resulted in the destruction of homes and fatalities. Intense heat alerts have also been issued for the coming days in parts of South Australia and NSW, as a ridge of high pressure moves to the east, delivering intense sunshine to a broad swath of the region.

The mix of extremely dry vegetation and relentless heat creates a volatile scenario for emergency crews.

Worldwide Climatic Events Cause Disruption

Elsewhere, a metropolis was plunged into blackout last week after powerful winds compromised the city’s power grid, with falling trees knocking out power lines. The weather conditions also caused significant travel disruption at a major airport, where numerous flights were cancelled. Severe damage to electrical infrastructure is expected to create further issues as service providers scramble to reconnect electricity to over 1 million residents.

Atypical Fog Blankets Sunny Region

At the same time, a region famed for its sunny weather and abundant sunlight has experienced one of its grayest and foggiest weeks on record. A particular form of fog, which typically lasts for only a few days, has been unusually extensive and persistent this year, keeping the mercury at a major airport below 8C for more than a week – the longest such streak in over three decades. The prolonged haze has been fuelled by exceptional fall rainfall that left soils saturated.

• Primary Driver: Record fall rains saturated the ground.
• Result: Prolonged and dense mist development.
• Impact: Thermal readings stayed unseasonably low for an lengthy time.

Severe Weather Delivers Snow to Holiday Destination

Turning to another country, a weather system has brought intense rainfall, strong winds and even snowfall to a group of islands – conditions many would not connect with this favored holiday destination. While wintry precipitation is not unheard of at higher ground, the storm brought some of the deepest accumulations in 2016 to a protected area, forcing its closure.

In addition to the snowfall, strong northerly winds buffeted the archipelago, with wind gusts exceeding 50mph observed on multiple locations. The effect of the weather event is forecast to diminish this week with more typical weather taking hold.