Southwest Queensland hit by heatwave

PARTS of southwest Queensland will swelter through a “severe heatwave” over the coming days, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

While Toowoomba’s temperatures are set to remain around four to five degrees above average, the Garden City will escape the worst of the heatwave.

BOM duty forecaster Janine Yuasa said there was an outside chance of a shower or storm “sneaking up” from the south today, but more activity was likely around the Stanthorpe and Warwick areas.

“On Friday and Saturday in particular... there’s a bit more of a chance with showers and thunderstorms,” she said.

Toowoomba hit a top of 32 degrees yesterday and will reach 30 degrees today before climbing to 33 tomorrow and 32 on Sunday.

Heading further west, Ms Yuasa said heatwave conditions prevailed for parts of southern inland Queensland, including Goondiwindi, and would eventually take in the Roma and St George areas, even heading east toward Dalby.

“They are expecting severe heatwave conditions, which essentially means there’s a prolonged period of hot conditions that are significantly above average,” she said.

Roma will hit a top of 38 degrees today and 39 tomorrow.

St George hit 41 yesterday, dropping to 40 degrees today and then back up to 41 degrees tomorrow.