A hot mass of air that built up over the Pilbara and smashed temperature records in the outback will hit Sydney on Wednesday, unleashing a scorching day that comes with high winds, extreme fire danger, risk of a thunderstorm and a severe heatwave warning for parts of NSW.

Records for October heat were broken on Monday in the inland NSW towns of Tibooburra, which hit 42.6 degrees, and Cobar, which hit 40.1 degrees. Similar temperatures for central NSW were forecast again for Tuesday before the heat reaches the coast.

“After today, the heat will push out towards the east coast, with the Sydney Metro area and eastern NSW seeing their hottest day on Wednesday,” Angus Hines from the Bureau of Meteorology said.

“Sydney is forecast to reach 38 degrees … and it could approach 40 degrees in the

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