Melbourne surpasses 40 degrees as city braces for the hottest day of summer
Heat weary Melburnians have been dealt another blow with temperature surpassing 40 degrees across the city, four degrees higher than the experts predicted.
Fire authorities remain on red alert as they brace for the hottest day in Melbourne this summer on Friday, with the mercury expected to soar to 44 degrees.
The city is set to toss and turn through the hottest night in a year with an overnight low of 29, which won't be reached until 3am, predicted as the mercury begins its climb into the 40s across much of the state.
A statewide total fire ban has been declared for Friday.
The temperature peaked at 40.8 degrees just after 5.30pm on Thursday, four degrees higher than the maximum 36 degrees predicted.
It comes as Victorians have been reassured of sufficient energy reserves despite warnings of power cuts across the state.
Thousands of homes were left without power in north central Victoria on Thursday as the mercury soared above 35 degrees in some towns.
More than 1250 properties in Nagambie, north of Melbourne, as well as hundreds more in nearby towns including Avenel, were without power for much of Thursday.
A fault was detected in an underground cable beneath the Hume Freeway and repair crews worked through the searing heat to repair it.
Power across the region was expected to be fully restored by early Thursday evening.
Country Fire Authority chief officer Steve Warrington warned Friday would mark the "first real day" of bushfire risk for the whole of the state this summer.
"It is time for all Victorians to be aware for the next four, six and up to eight weeks," he said.
A very high fire warning remains in place for the Wimmera, South West, Northern Country, North Central, Central and North East districts.
Victorian Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Richard Carlyon said a strong offshore wind had caused the temperature to unexpectedly soar in Melbourne late on Thursday afternoon.
"It's been a tricky day with the sea breeze and offshore wind battling it out," he said. "The offshore wind has won because it has kept the sea breeze out of the city and allowed the temperature to climb to four degrees higher than forecast."
"Because it's reached a higher than expected temperature in Melbourne the temperature is going to fall very slowly tonight," Mr Carlyon said.
"It's going to be in the 30s for most of the night before it's looking like it will drop down to about 29 at 3am on Friday."
Parts of the city sweltered on Thursday with Viewbank hitting 41 degrees and Essendon Airport reaching 41.8 degrees.
The Murray River city of Mildura reached 45 degrees and is expected to hit a stifling 47 degrees on Friday, while the mercury Warrnambool in the south-western coast of Victoria, hovered at 44 degrees at 4.30pm on Thursday.
On Friday, the mercury is expected to hit 40 degrees in Melbourne before 11am.
"It will warm up very quickly," Mr Carlyon said.
The extreme heat wave comes as residents are urged to monitor their power consumption by limiting their use of appliances.
Thousands of homes were left without power in north central Victoria on Thursday as the mercury soared above 35 degrees in some towns.
More than 1250 properties in Nagambie, north of Melbourne, as well as hundreds more in nearby towns including Avenel had been without power since Wednesday night.
A fault was detected in an underground cable beneath the Hume Freeway with repair crews spending much of Thursday in the soaring heat digging to repair it.
Power was expected to be restored to the entire region by early Thursday evening.
The extreme weather also prompted Melbourne bus operator Transdev to cancel some services.
Yarra Trams also ran services to an "extreme weather timetable", with some trams, including those on Route 30, not running on Thursday.
The Australian Energy Market Operator is warning the electricity supply and demand balance is "very tight" in Victoria and is urging consumers to monitor their energy use.
Audrey Zibelman, chief of the Australian Energy Market Operator, said power resources seemed to be sufficient, but asked residents to limit their use of appliances like dishwashers and washing machines during peak hours.
A cool change is set to sweep through about 3pm on Friday. In some places, the temperature is expected to drop by 15 degrees in 20 minutes.
But the change will bring wind gusts of up to 80km/h, thunderstorms and increased fire risk.
The weekend is expected to be much milder, with a top of 26 degrees on Australia Day and 25 degrees on Sunday.