PETER HANNAM January 04, 2013 Heatwave ... Sydney is set to
dodge the extreme heat that will hit most of the country. Photo:
Andy Zakeli A “quirk” of the weather combined with geography
will spare residents of Sydney and regions along the NSW coast
from the scorching temperatures searing much of the country.
Sydney and centres such as Newcastle and Wollongong will barely
reach 30 degrees over the next week while most other state
capitals face days of blistering heat closer to 40 degrees or
higher between now and Monday. National records, including the
highest average temperature of 40.17 degrees hit on December 21,
1972, may tumble in coming days as the massive heatwave covers
most of the continent. The all-time record of 50.7 degrees at
Oodnadatta Airport in South Australia on January 2, 1960, may
also be challenged. Unlike earlier hot spells this summer,
though, Sydney's mercury will touch 30 degrees on only one day
over the coming week – on Tuesday – according to the weather
bureau's latest forecasts. “It'