Mount Isa community battles longest November heatwave on record
Carlos Lambert records an impressive rooftop temperature at 9:45am. (Supplied: Carlos Lambert)
In short:
Mount Isa has recorded 11 consecutive days over 40 degrees Celsius, breaking the 2015 record for November.
Outdoor workers are having to adapt to the unusual heat.
What's next?
Locals are bracing for the official beginning of summer, which the Bureau of Meteorology says could be one of Australia's hottest yet.
Residents and workers in north-west Queensland are no strangers to extreme temperatures, but a record-breaking stint is taking its toll on some.
Mount Isa has sweltered through 11 consecutive days above 40 degrees Celsius, breaking the record set in 2015.
Forecasts predict another four days of temperatures above 40C, meaning more spring records could be broken around the state.
Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Daniel Hayes said the extended run was "quite noteworthy".
"We are a far way above average," he said.
Off the back of an already intense fire season, locals have been forced to stay indoors to avoid the sun, smoke and heat.
But those whose jobs require them to remain outdoors have found their own coping mechanisms.
Construction workers struggle
Carlos Lambert is working on a construction site as a roofer in Mount Isa.
He believed the heat, not working at heights, was the most dangerous part of his job.
"I'll put my calibrated temperature gun on the roof and it'll read like 61 [degrees Celsius], and it's not even the hottest part of the day," he said.
Roofer Carlos Lambert braces for a hot day of work. (ABC North West Queensland: Maddie Nixon)
Site manager Chris Williams altered staff rostering to combat the unusual November conditions, including concreters whose hard work risks being ruined.
"For it to not bubble out and ruin the work, we have to wait till nine o'clock at night, when the ambient temperature comes down," he said.
Roofing is extra hard work when spring heat records are breaking. (ABC North West Queensland: Maddie Nixon)
On a worksite shared among Isa locals and FIFO workers from the coast, the Townsville-based manager said he could usually pick where someone grew up by how they responded to the heat.
"You certainly do feel it," he said.
Puppy pool party
Owen Kruger has owned a pet stay in Mount Isa for six years, and said staff had to implement a heat management plan earlier than usual.
"The heat just has hit us hard this year, the animals and the staff," he said.
Owen Kruger has to manage heat conditions for both staff and clientele. (ABC North West Queensland: Maddie Nixon)
Mr Kruger's staff have worked hard to keep their furry clientele safe, adding extra welfare checks, plenty of water and offering air-conditioning for owners who opt in.
The doggy day care has turned into a pool party. (ABC North West Queensland: Maddie Nixon)
But it hasn't all been doom and gloom.
"Our daycare has become a bit of a pool party," Mr Kruger said.
The dogs at Mr Kruger's pet stay are grateful for the sprinklers. (ABC North West Queensland: Maddie Nixon)
Preserving an oasis
Emily Leicht has run a local nursery in Mount Isa for six years, and has found the early summer costly due to extra watering and fertiliser.
"It's probably about two-and-a-half hours of watering a day just to keep up with them," she said.
Morgan and Emily Leicht's family business is a rare pocket of green in the outback. (ABC North West Queensland: Maddie Nixon)
Ms Leicht and her husband hand water the plants from 7pm each day to avoid sunburn, not finishing till late in the evening.
"It means that I've got to rely on my son to do dinner for us — it takes our whole family," she said.
The local nursery becomes a sanctuary during a heatwave. (ABC North West Queensland: Maddie Nixon)
Ms Leicht has recently started importing plants from Darwin instead of south-east Queensland to ensure they are better acclimatised to the harsh outback conditions.
"It does involve extra cost, but we seem to get better quality plants," she said.
Not over yet
Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Daniel Hayes said the hot weather could continue up to 15 consecutive days.
"[There will not be] a lot of shifting from those 40s really until the end of the weekend," he said.
Mr Hayes attributes the unseasonal conditions to a trough developing in the north, combined with clear skies in Mount Isa, allowing the heat to develop during the day.
Nearby towns could be set to break their own records as well.
"Cloncurry's record is 12 days and Camooweal is 13, so we will probably be pushing those as well," Mr Hayes said.
The heat comes amid the BOM forecasting Australia is set to face one of the hottest summers on record.