Weather warning: East coast smashed by deadly storms, record heat as wild weather leaves trail of destruction

Millions of Australians remain on edge on Thursday after wild and deadly weather swept the east coast of the nation, with temperatures reaching record-breaking levels in parts of NSW and Queensland and winds tearing parts of Victoria apart.

Sydneysiders breathed a sigh of relief as temperatures finally cooled on Thursday, coming off the back of one of the hottest Octobers on record.

Residents were warned to stay inside as the mercury crept up towards 40C on Wednesday, with Penrith Lakes reaching 39.5C, Canterbury Racecourse hitting 38.1C and Sydney Harbour 37.7C.

Conditions were even hotter in the city’s west, climbing to a sweltering 39.8C in Bankstown Airport.

“Based on preliminary data, it does appear that records were set across much of the Sydney area for their highest temperatures recorded in October,” Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Angus Hines said.

Despite the blistering heat, much of NSW also experienced dangerous wind gusts, bringing down trees and causing widespread damage across the state.

NSW SES responded to more than 270 call-outs on Wednesday, with the highest impacts felt in Western Sydney.

“Most reports related to typical storm impacts, including trees and branches down, and minor roof damage,” an SES spokesman told NewsWire.

Thankfully, the heat has settled on Thursday, giving Sydneysiders a much cooler end to the week.

“There was a wind change overnight last night, and that’s dragged in some much cooler air from the south,” Mr Hines said.

“Today could be around 15C cooler than yesterday through Sydney and other eastern areas.”

While the heat has calmed down in NSW, the same can’t be said for South East Queensland, which is continuing to feel the burn.

“Today, in fact, could be the hottest day of the week for South East Queensland,” Mr Hines said.

Brisbane is forecast to reach 34C on Thursday, but the bureau warned the temperature could creep as high as 37C through the city’s western suburbs.

These figures are six to eight degrees higher than the October average.

“There are heatwave warnings in place across pretty large parts of Queensland and the Northern Territory, where warmer than average days and nights will continue throughout the rest of this week, the weekend and even linger into next week,” Mr Hines said.

Fire bans remain in place for much of the state’s northeast, including Townsville, Burdekin Shire, Whitsunday, Mackay, Isaac region, Central Highlands, North Burnett, Banana Shire, Gladstone and Bundaberg regions.

There is also a total fire ban for residents in Far North Queensland, spanning the Northern Peninsula and Kowanyama Aboriginal Shire.

It wasn’t just NSW experiencing extremely windy conditions, as Victoria was torn apart by blistering and dangerous gusts, reaching speeds in excess of 110km/h in some areas.

The worst of the gusts were felt in Victoria’s south, though speeds picked up after noon and ripped through much of the state.

Overnight, wind speeds reached 130km/h in Wilsons Promontory, 117km/h in Falls Creek and 113km/h in Mt Hotham.

Gusts reached 98km/h in Warrnambool, 96km/h in St Kilda Harbour, and 94km/h at Melbourne Airport.

“Lots of trees down, there were power outages, there were road closures, reports of damage and very difficult conditions on the coastal waters,” Mr Hines said.

Victoria’s SES responded to more than 1430 calls on Wednesday, with more than 1000 trees down and 300 reports of building damage in Melbourne.

The largest reports were in Fawkner, Whitehorse, Whittlesea and Heidelberg.

The wind also caused widespread power outages across the city.

A CitiPower spokesman told NewsWire that more than 20,000 residents lost power throughout the day.

The hardest-hit areas were Shepparton, Echuca and Maryborough.

Power had since been restored to all customers, the spokesman said.

The weather was so extreme it caused the Geelong Cup to be cancelled.

Geelong Racing Club chief executive Luke Rayner said the wind was too wild for the meeting to continue and the remaining races were rescheduled to Thursday.

“We’ll have the remaining six races, including the Ladbrokes Geelong Cup run tomorrow, which will certainly be free entry,” he said.

“If people return with their wristbands tomorrow, we will well and truly look after those people if they’re willing to return..”

The unruly conditions were also deadly after two men were killed after the wind swept them from Frankston Pier and into the water.

An aerial search found the pair unresponsive in the water about 5pm on Wednesday and they were winched back to shore.

However, they could not be saved.

Frankston Mayor Kris Bolam confirmed the pair’s deaths on Wednesday evening.

“I extend our deepest condolences to their families, friends and loved ones,” he said.

“Over the upcoming summer season, we will be enhancing our patrols along the beach, pier and foreshore precincts, including additional lifeguard hours, increased signage around hazardous conditions and clear communication when access should be restricted.”

While the weather was particularly wild on Wednesday, the bureau confirmed the worst was over.

“The weather system which was driving these very strong winds, rapidly departed out to the east overnight over towards New Zealand,” Mr Hines said.

“It’s left a much calmer weather pattern across the southern half of Australia.”

Brisbane residents will have a hot Thursday, with partly cloudy skies and a slight chance of a shower and a top of 34C.

It will be much cooler in Sydney, with southwesterly winds and a maximum temperature of 22C.

Conditions will be mostly sunny in Canberra on Thursday, reaching a top of 23C.

Melbourne residents can expect a cloudy day, with a slight chance of a shower and the mercury at a pleasant 18C.

It will also be cloudy and wet in Hobart, reaching a top of 16C.

Adelaide residents will see partly cloudy skies, with a slight chance of a shower and light winds and a maximum temperature of 20C.

Conditions will also be cloudy in Perth, with a forecast of 21C.

Darwin residents can expect sunny skies and light winds in the afternoon, with a maximum temperature of 35C.