Feature image: Oodnadatta, SA
For the second day in a row, South Australia has cranked up the heat and smashed its record for the hottest winter temperature ever recorded. On Saturday afternoon, Weatherzone reported the town of Oodnadatta, located in SA’s North East Pastoral district, hit a scorching 39.4 degrees, breaking the record it set just the day before.
On Friday, Oodnadatta had already set a new winter high of 38.5 degrees, taking over the old record by two degrees which was set in 1946.
Last week’s winter heatwave didn’t just stop at Oodnadatta’s record-breaking temperatures, with other SA towns also setting new highs. Marree, in SA’s North East Pastoral district, reached 37.3 degrees, surpassing its old record of 34.9. While Roxby Downs, in SA’s North West Pastoral, hit 36.1 degrees, breaking its previous record of 34.6.
Weatherzone says this surge in temperatures has been driven by a hot airmass over Central Australia and northern South Australia: “The unusually hot August airmass over Central Australia and northern SA has been caused by a stream of northwesterly winds flowing between a low pressure system centred over the Great Australian Bight and a high pressure system sitting over Queensland.”
Oodnadatta is no stranger to extreme heat. With a population of around 100 people, this small outback town endures a desert climate, with very hot summers and mild winters. Summer temperatures can soar well above 40 degrees, while winter temperatures can dip below freezing.
On January 2nd in 1960, Oodnadatta set an unforgettable record with a scorching 50.7 degrees – the highest temperature ever recorded in Australia. Even the minimum temperature that day was a sweltering 34.6 degrees… talk about a scorcher.
Located about 1,200 kilometres north of Adelaide and roughly 160 kilometres south of the Northern Territory border, Oodnadatta sits along the historic Oodnadatta Track, a popular route for those exploring the Australian outback.
For more information from Weatherzone, click here.
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