High fire danger, 37°C top temperature: Shoalhaven to swelter through another risky day

A top of 36°C is forecast for Nowra on Tuesday (October 3), while Ulladulla is facing a top of 37°C and Huskisson 35°C.

A high pressure system off the coast is the culprit behind the unseasonably warm weather; during late September and now into early October, temperatures has risen well above the monthly averages.

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Bureau of Meteorology spokesperson Dylan Bird gave a rundown of the weather systems at play.

"Generally speaking, we've got a high [pressure system] over the Tasman Sea, and this approaching cold front from the west," he said.

"Between the two, we have these strong northerly winds which are dragging heat from the interior of Australia into New South Wales. And we've had fairly continuous northerlies over the last week and into early this week.

"It looks like that heat is very much peaking tomorrow in many areas, particularly areas close to the coast.

"Tomorrow we'll see temperatures up to 14 degrees above the average for this time of year - so that's quite warm for the south coast."

With high fire danger forecast for the Shoalhaven, advice from the Rural Fire Service NSW is 'be ready to act'. However, there is currently fire ban in place for the region.

Fortunately, residents and visitors (and firefighters) can expect some relief as that cold front swings through later in the week, Mr Bird explained.

"It's going from hot to cool... the [cold] front will reach the south east early on Wednesday, and with that it looks like temperatures will swing back in that direction," he said.

"Looking at average temperatures, those will be between two to six degrees below the monthly average."

Out on the water, conditions are more of a mixed bag: wind warnings are likely for much of the NSW coast, and potentially some serious surf conditions in the south.

A strong wind warning is already in place for the state's marine areas as of Monday (October 2), and is set to stay that way tomorrow.

"We're also likely to issues a hazardous surf warning for the Batemans and Eden Coasts for late Wednesday to early Thursday," Mr Bird added.

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