Hot weather on the way for Australia

Last year was Australia's hottest year on record, but 2014 is already off to cracking start with temperatures in some parts of the country set to soar close to 50 degrees in the first week of the year.

Most capital cities will be spared the worst of the hot weather while parts of South Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland will swelter in the summer sun.

Weatherzone meteorologist Ben Domensino said that for some parts of Queensland the heatwave will be the worst the state has experienced in more than 50 years.

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"For some places, particularly western Queensland, it'll be the most intense heatwave for some parts of the state in more than 50 years," Mr Domensino told the Sydney Morning Herald.

"The hot air mass that's over central parts of the country is expected to challenge quite a few records, although it's not affecting most of the capital cities," Mr Domensino said.

The Bureau of Meteorology predicts that Moomba and Maree in SA will experience temperatures of 49 degrees, while in Queensland's town Birdsville the heat will hover around 48 degrees.

Temperatures in Alice Springs have not dropped below 43C since the beginning of the week and by Friday the hot weather is expected to hit towns in central and west NSW.

Temperatures around Australia

ACT - Not expected to be above 30C for the next week.
NSW - Central and west of the state to see temperatures in high 30s and reaching low 40s before the weekend. Western Sydney will experience mid-to-low 30s on Thursday and Friday but a cool change is expected next week.
NT - Mid 30s to low 40s across the territory.
QLD - Central and south west in high 40s through to the weekend, with much of the state hovering in the low 40s and high 30s for the next week.
SA - Some town in the north of the state will see temperatures soar above 49C, remaining the mid-30s for much of the next week. Adelaide and surrounds expected to stay in the mid-20s for the next week.
TAS - The Apple Isle will be spared the heat with temperatures remaining in the low 20s.
VIC - Towns in the north of the state will only scrape past 30C while much of Victoria and Melbourne will remain in mid-to-low-20s.
WA - Much of the state will simmer in the high-30s and low 40s with temperatures in the capital staying in the high-20s before climbing to 36C at the start of next week.

Sources: The Sydney Morning Herald, ABC
Author: Nicholas McCallum, Approving editor: Simon Black