NOT only did sweltering conditions in North West NSW smash local records last week, Narrabri's temperature jumped by the biggest margin on record in Australia.
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According to the Bureau of Meteorology's manager of climate monitoring and prediction, Dr David Jones, Narrabri's leap to 47.8 degrees on Friday was a 3.6 degree increase on the area's previous high.
"It would have been a bit of a shock to the locals as they'd never seen temperatures above 45 degrees," Dr Jones said.
On the same day mercury dramatically rose in thermometers from north of Dubbo to St George in Queensland, the bureau released its annual climate statement, which hailed 2013 as the hottest year on record.
Not one to be outdone in the sizzling stakes, NSW, which came in as the second State in terms of four-year mean temperature rises in 2013, started 2014 with what Dr Jones described as "probably NSW's most significant heat wave on record".
"This event wasn't quite as severe as a national event (last year) but one might argue that 49.1 degrees at Walgett, locally, made it more severe," he said.
But it's the circumstances surrounding the heat spikes that has Dr Jones raising his eyebrows.
To see such high temperatures without national scale drought was quite incredible, he said.
While cooler temperatures and some rain are expected over the next couple of days in the north and east, the seasonal outlook isn't a good news story either, with below average rainfall and above average temperatures expected to continue across NSW from January to March.
Moree district agronomist, Brad Cogan of Cogan Agronomy Services Pty Ltd, was one of many hoping there would be no new records broken any time soon.
He said the temperature reached in the area last Friday was "full on" and combined with the below average rainfall, the season wasn't looking very good.
"It's hard to manage those situations and I don't think anyone expects it to get that hot," Mr Cogan said.
"From a grower and a summer cropping point of view that one day wasn't ideal, but it was the lead up with the below average seasonal rainfall that made that day so much worse."
Mr Cogan said in his area, growers were progressive, used the latest practices and many planted a good rotation of crops but a lack of summer rain will always lead to problems.
"I wouldn't say that one day will wholly and solely be the impact on yield potential - that's a seasonal thing."
He said growers had held back on planting as much dryland cotton and sorghum due to lack of planning rainfall at the time.
While Mr Cogan said the season wasn't looking great and farmers were still looking to the skies, he was philosophical about the warmer conditions.
"If you ask many farmers about last year they'd say, 'yes it happened; it's cyclic,'" Mr Cogan said.
But for the Bureau and Dr Jones, there was no doubt that temperatures are heading in one direction only and that's on the up.
"We know the planet is getting hotter," he said.
"If you look across all States and territories we have 84 monthly temperature records in 12 months.
"Out of 84 temperatures only three of those were below average and we haven't seen a below average global temperature in decades."
Jenna Cairney
Deputy editor of The Land.
Deputy editor of The Land.
