Hottest Day For 53 Years In Melbourne

Melbourne has endured its hottest December day for 53 years. The mercury soared to 42.1 degrees Celsius in Melbourne at 2.45pm (AEDT) today as bushfires raged across much of the state. That made it Melbourne's hottest December day since December 20, 1953, when the temperature also hit 42.1. By 4pm - an hour and a quarter later - the temperature had cooled to 23.5. Cool wind changes were expected to sweep across the state in the next few hours. But fire crews fighting blazes in Victoria's north-east and Gippsland areas are bracing for conditions to worsen. Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Terry Ryan said it was possible showers could sweep through the fire-affected areas tomorrow. But the rainfall was likely to be light, and isolated thunderstorms predicted across the state would bring little rain, he said. Mr Ryan said a fresh south-westerly change was expected to move through Gippsland between 9pm and midnight in the low-lying coastal areas. The higher parts and Alpine area will be affected by a westerly change on Monday morning. By mid-tomorrow, the cool change was expected to have swept across the whole of the state. A few showers are expected mainly in the southern and mountain areas. The temperature in Melbourne tomorrow is forecast to reach a top of 20 degrees Celsius, with a few showers. The day will be mostly cloudy with moderate south to south-westerly winds.