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Tasmanian fires rage on despite freezing winds

A "feels like" temperature of –14.6°C was recorded at kunanyi/Mt Wellington above Hobart on Wednesday morning, as a second cold front in a week surged across Tasmania.  

Yet despite the unseasonably chilly airmass, bushfires still rage – most of them in the state's northwest.

If anything, the strong winds accompanying the cold front this Wednesday have helped fan the fires – especially as rain has been minimal.

• In the 24 hours to 9am Wednesday, no Tasmanian weather station received more than 5mm (apart from the odd one in the state's south).
• Between 9am and 3pm Wednesday, only four Tasmanian weather stations received more than 5mm of rain, despite a front moving through.
• Meanwhile winds have gusted to 96 km/h at kunanyi/Mt Wellington and to 102 km/h at Tasmania’s windiest weather station on Maatsuyker Island off the state’s southern tip.

It all adds up to a situation where at least 18 bushfires are still burning, according to Tasmanian authorities. Many of those fires are under control, however some are not. Please check the latest here.

Image: Smoke from the Tasmanian fires eight days ago could be seen blowing from the northeast to the southwest. It would be blowing the opposite way today however the satellite view is currently obscured by cloud.

As things stand now, almost 100,000 hectares of bushland have burned in the recent spate of serious bushfires that was started by a dry lightning outbreak on February 3.

That includes parts of the Tarkine temperate rainforest and alpine bushland near Cradle Mountain that may take decades to recover.

The short-term good news is that Tasmanian weather will moderate on Thursday with lighter winds. But with northerly winds strengthening into the weekend ahead of yet another summer cold front due later on Sunday, firefighters will have their work cut out.

Image: Synoptic chart for Sunday, Feb 23, showing the increasing northerly winds ahead of the next cold front.

Tasmania's official fire danger rating is in the moderate-to-high range until Saturday, and while no part of the state currently has a fire danger rated as extreme or catastrophic, the state's February fire emergency is far from over.