MARANOA and Darling Downs residents have sweltered through an unusually hot start to the week, with temperatures soaring 12 to 13 degrees above average.
On Monday St George was the hottest town in the state, with the temperature gauge hitting 42.6 degC, making it their hottest October day in more than 50 years.
Surat and Stanthorpe also broke records, with the temperature reaching 41.7 degC and 35.5 degC respectively.
Weatherzone senior meteorologist Brett Dutschke said 40 degC heat had been steadily moving across central Australia into western and southern Queensland.
Mr Dutschke said it was definitely unusual for this time of year and was more typical of summer than mid-spring weather.
"It's brought about by a low pressure trough, which has moved across the area," he said.
"The heat originated in early spring over north-western Australia and a good part of that area has been breaking hit records since late winter.
"It has moved to central and northern parts of Queensland where the heat is milling about; some heat will come back later this week but it will be a fairly short lived burst for southern Queensland."
The heat led to an extreme fire danger warning on Monday and a bushfire began at about 1pm at Ballandean on the Granite Belt. Queensland Fire and Emergency Services have been working with the Queensland Department of National Parks to contain the fire, which is burning near Girraween National Park.
On Tuesday a watch and act community warning was sent out for the fire but it was reduced to an advice warning that night.
A Queensland Fire and Emergency Services spokesperson said fires started on an extreme fire danger day generally spread faster and were harder to control.
"On Tuesday, at Glenlyon a helicopter conducted a routine landing but clipped power lines and the power lines started a grassfire, with 500 to 600 acres [202 to 243 hectares] burnt as a result," she said
"We also had a fire at Ingoldsby, in the Lockyer Valley; it got to an advice level warning but was contained overnight.
"There was also a fire started at 3pm on Tuesday at Esk, near the Brisbane Valley Highway. It was contained at 5.30pm with some back burning but smoke is expected to affect that area for up to two days."
Melody Labinsky
Journalist for Queensland Country Life at Toowoomba.
Journalist for Queensland Country Life at Toowoomba.
