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Weather: Roebourne breaks Aussie heat record for January as Pilbara towns swelter through wet season scorcher

Tom ZaunmayrPilbara News
Carys Caddick, 3.
Camera IconCarys Caddick, 3. Credit: Cheyanne Enciso/Pilbara News

The Pilbara town of Roebourne has entered the Australian record books after the temperature climbed to 50.5 degrees just before 1pm on Thursday.

The Bureau of Meteorology recorded the scorching figure at Roebourne Aero just before 12.30pm which has set a new West Australian record for the hottest ever January day.

It comes as several coastal Pilbara towns bake in high 40-degree weather which could still see more weather records tumble.

Earlier in the day Karratha recorded its hottest January day, registering 48.4 degrees before noon.

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South of Karratha, Mardie (50.5 degrees) and Onslow (50.3 degrees) each made the record book, and Port Hedland’s top of 48.4 degrees was 0.6 degrees short of the record set in 2008.

Many flocked to the Karratha Leisureplex pools for some relief including Melanie Caddick and her three-year-old daughter Carys.

“It’s super hot today so we’ve just come to escape the heat at home and trying to get the toddler a little bit more active and she’s loving it,” Ms Caddick said.

The hottest day ever recorded in the Pilbara was in 1998, when Mardie Station south of Karratha registered 50.5 degrees, a West Australian record.

Australia’s hottest ever day was 50.7 degrees, recorded in the South Australian town of Oodnadatta in 1960.

There will be respite for the Pilbara coast tomorrow with a cool change forecast and temperatures expected to drop back to the high-30s and low 40s across most of the region.

Inland temperatures are expected to remain in the mid to high 40s, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

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