Summer's set to be a scorcher

Nathan Paull | 30th November 2009

Gladstone residents are already feeling the heat with temperatures as high as 33°C recorded over the weekend.

Kiara Holzberger, 9, with her cousins Jordan, 7, and Matthew Long, 6, were sun-safety conscious at yesterday’s Little Athletics carnival by applying sunscreen and zinc, wearing hats and having a little water fight to keep themselves cool.

Chrissy Harris

SUMMER is just around the corner and Gladstone residents know it.

The mercury peaked at 33°C for the weekend at 11.30am on Sunday and hit its highest on Saturday at about 1pm, recording a peak of 32.8°C, according to the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM).

The region’s fans and air-conditioners are set to go into overdrive this summer, with even the night-time temperatures not looking to give any real respite from the scorching day-time heat.

BOM readings for the weekend showed the coolest time in the region was about 3am both days, but the temperature was still rather warm.

Saturday’s lowest temperature saw the mercury drop to 23.5°C.

But come Sunday, the thermometer could only manage to drop down to 24.1°C.

Mother Nature’s prelude to the official summer, which starts tomorrow, may have made residents a bit shy about heading out onto the water.

Volunteer Marine Rescue (VMR) duty controller Steve Mattson told The Observer there were not many out enjoying the otherwise ideal conditions at the weekend.

“There weren’t as many people out as you would expect with this sort of weather,” Mr Mattson said.

“The local boaties seemed to be in picnic mode and were just sitting out in the harbour.

“There were a lot of families out though, but not really many fishermen.”

Mr Mattson said the water was fairly calm both mornings, but an afternoon wind made seas a bit rougher later in the day.

But it was a quiet time for VMR, with no-one needing assistance for break downs or running out of fuel, he said.