Dangerous fire weather conditions forecast for the Gascoyne and Southern WA

14/11/2016

Residents in the Gascoyne and the south of Western Australia are urged to keep up-to-date with the latest forecasts and warnings as dangerous fire weather conditions are forecast for this Tuesday 15 November and Wednesday 16 November.

The Bureau of Meteorology's WA Regional Director Mike Bergin said severe or extreme fire danger ratings are predicted for many inland parts of the South West Land Division and the Gascoyne, and some areas are likely to experience catastrophic fire danger ratings.

"These conditions are due to a trough of low pressure from the Gascoyne to the South Coast moving slowly eastwards during the day, leading to strong gusty northerly winds," Mr Bergin said.

"These northerly winds will drag very hot and dry air into the area. This combination of low humidity, very high temperatures and strong winds will lead to the catastrophic fire danger rating.

"We are forecasting temperatures in some areas of 40 degrees or higher and are expecting to see wind gusts of more than 50km per hour."

Fire weather conditions should ease on Wednesday for much of the South West Land Division, except for the eastern-most parts of the area, the Goldfields and Eucla, where they will persist until late in the day.

Keep up to date with the latest forecasts and warnings at www.bom.gov.au, via our new smartphone app, BOM Weather or by following us on Twitter at @bom_wa, as well as staying tuned to local broadcasts.

The Bureau has released a severe weather update video about fire conditions in WA.