EXTREME WEATHER: Australian Open Halted Because Of Extreme Heat - It's So Hot In Melbourne, That People Are Frying Eggs On The Tennis Courts!

January 17, 2014 - AUSTRALIA - Having already taken enough heat for not stopping matches earlier, blistering temperatures finally halted play on Day 4 of the 2014 Australian Open as a high temperature of 110 degrees Fahrenheit was recorded nearby.

Kei Nishikori of Japan wraps an ice pack around his head during a break in his first round match against
Marinko Matosevic of Australia at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne,
Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2014.(AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

The Extreme Heat Policy was enacted at Melbourne Park just before 2 p.m. Thursday, suspending all matches on outer courts until the early evening and requiring the closure of the retractable roofs at Rod Laver and Hisense arenas before play could continue on the show courts.

It was the first time since 2009 play had been halted due to heat at the Australian Open.

"This heat is roughly on par with what was in place in early June in Phoenix," said weather.com senior meteorologist Jon Erdman. "The MLB's Arizona Diamondbacks would have the roof closed and air conditioning on when playing home games in similar conditions."

For Maria Sharapova, playing at Rod Laver Arena, the call came too late. The rule dictates the roof can't be closed until the end of a set in progress, so she was forced to finish a grueling third set against Italian Karin Knapp under the blazing sun.


WATCH: Heat Makes Pro Athletes Cry.

"Everyone knows there is no tiebreaker in the third set (at the Australian Open), so once you start that set, you're going to be out there until you're done," she said after closing out the 3 1/2-hour match, 6-3, 4-6, 10-8.

Other players wilted in the heat. American Varvara Lepchenko received medical treatment during her match against 11th-seeded Romanian Simona Halep, lying flat on her back during a changeover as trainers rubbed iced on her body.

"At first I didn't understand what was going on but then my legs, my arms started to get heavier. I couldn't focus at one point and started feeling dizzier and dizzier," she said.

She continued but only won one more game in a 4-6, 6-0, 6-1 defeat.

"They definitely should have just not started the matches in the first place," she said. "And the same goes for a couple of days ago when I played my (first) match."

The heat wave began Tuesday when the temperature peaked at 42C (108F). The tournament referee did not halt play then because the Extreme Heat Policy also takes into account other factors, such as humidity and wind speed.

The distinction is lost on the players, who have grumbled all week about the conditions which some have described as inhumane and dangerous. On Tuesday, Canadian Frank Dancevic blacked out and hallucinated during his match, while China's Peng Shuai vomited and suffered cramps.

No. 25-seeded Alize Cornet of France sobbed on court Thursday after her draining 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 victory over Italian Camila Giorgi, then blasted officials for not halting play sooner.

Weatherman reports on the heat wave.

"On Tuesday, I don't know why they didn't stop matches," she said. "It was an oven. An oven. It was burning. Why today and not Tuesday?"

Play finally got under way again on outer courts shortly after 6 p.m. local time, but 14 matches were later suspended again due to lighting.

The heat hasn't just affected players - it's also kept fans away. Total attendance was just 53,226 on Thursday, down from Monday's high of 63,595.

The unshaded seats on the outer courts were virtually empty Thursday, with spectators congregating under trees or in the upper reaches of stands where temporary covers provided a little relief.

New Zealander Helen Naylor escaped the sun after watching fellow Kiwi Marina Erakovic play for a bit on Court 13.

"Even the seats are really hot - God knows how (the players) are running around out there."

Relief is as least in sight. Friday will be another scorcher, with an expected high of 44C (111F), but Saturday it will only reach 23C (73F). That may feel downright chilly by comparison. - TWC.



You know how hot it is at the Australian Open? A photographer pulled out a pan and a couple of eggs and attempted to fry them on the boiling court on Thursday.

Temperatures are so high, you can literally fry eggs on the boiling court. Twitter.

Lucky for us, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was in a spirited mood after his second round win over Thomaz Bellucci and snapped this picture of the photographer attempting to make some breakfast inside the Hisense Arena.

The roof was actually closed at Hisense because of the ridiculous heat in Melbourne, but that didn't stop this guy from showing us exactly how hot it is on court for some of these players.

Friday looks like the last day temperatures will reach triple digits, with a serious cold front blowing through Melbourne after that to help cool off the courts and help the players survive these nasty conditions. - Yahoo Sports.

EXTREME WEATHER: Dry Lightning Sparks 256 Fires Amid Heatwave In Victoria, Australia - Total Fire Ban Across The State As Temperatures Are Expected To Exceed 46C!

January 15, 2014 - AUSTRALIA - Crews have worked throughout the night extinguishing hundreds of fires in the driest parts of Victoria sparked by dry lightning from electrical storms.

Electrical storm in Craigieburn last night. Photo: Supplied.

CFA state duty officer Scott Purdy told 3AW radio crews responded to 256 fires between 5pm and 12am.

The Mallee and Wimmera received the most strikes as electrical storms hit the region and continued to other parts of the state including the central Victorian towns of Castlemaine, Daylesford, Woodend, Macedon, and metropolitan Melbourne.

There are still 22 fires burning in the Mallee. Waterbombing helicopters are monitoring the region and central Victoria to identify strikes before conditions worsen later in the week.

The CFA fears more dry lightning, which means lightning with not enough rain to combat its effect, will hit the state today.

The CFA battled several grass fires yesterday, with the most serious at Kangaroo Ground which is now under control.

There is a total fire ban across the state.

Hot night

Victorians endured a hot night and are facing another scorcher today.

The temperature stayed in the 30s for most of the night, dipping to 29.3C just after 5am - close to the January record of 30.6C in 2010.

The Bureau of Meteorology revised today's forecast for Melbourne from 39C to 41C after the mercury came close to 43C yesterday.

Firefighters battles a blaze at Penny's pine factory.  Photo: News Limited.

The bureau said the heat would increase quickly this morning, and Melbourne should be close to 40C soon after midday.

Temperatures will continue to peak above 40C tomorrow and Friday, with wind gusts of up to 100km/h expected to create dangerous fire conditions on Friday.

The heat was expected to reach 45C in parts of the state yesterday, but Mr Russell said Avalon, southwest of Melbourne, was among locations sweltering in temperatures exceeding 46C.

Police probe arson as houses saved

Waterbombing helicopters and dozens of fire trucks contained the blaze at Kangaroo Ground, north of Melbourne, that was believed to have been started by a bonfire.

Police are also investigating whether a fire bug was responsible for another fire at Little River.

Residents whose homes came within metres of the raging Little River grassfire said fire bugs had been a constant concern in the area.

A cluster of households in Little River, 51km southwest of Melbourne, were told to evacuate as several fire crews aided by waterbombing aircraft battled to control the fast-moving inferno.

Smoke billows from the Little River fire. Photo: News Limited.

At Kangaroo Ground an army of 31 fire trucks and three waterbombing aircraft battled to control a bushfire on difficult terrain as the inferno spread in several directions.

At Little River Stephen Baines said he returned home from work to find fire trucks screaming down the road and his neighbours being evacuated as firefighters tried to halt the flames at Bulban Rd.

"It was bloody scary," Mr Baines said.

He said the community suspected arson with the fire occurring exactly a year after grass fires in the same area which police believe were sparked by fire bugs.

"Mate this one was deliberately lit, just like the last one.

"We're all keeping an eye out," he said.

Victoria Police arson chemists have been at the scene trying to determine whether or not the blaze was suspicious.

Historic home damaged by fire

Heronswood historic homestead was engulfed by flames yesterday afternoon after a grassfire spread through the Mornington Peninsula suburb of Dromana.

The CFA said the home's freestanding cafe had been destroyed in the blaze, but the main house which dates back to 1864, suffered only minor damage.

CFA incident controller David Gibbs said the property's heritage farm and gardens were unlikely to have been damaged by fire.

Flames first reached the property and popular tourist attraction at around 5.45pm, but a water bomber soon put out the blaze.

Visitors to the house who were on site at the time were not injured by the fire, but the nearby freeway was closed.

The remains of the cafe at Heronswood. Photo: News Limited.

Power cut 'for planned maintenance'

Meanwhile, a power company cut off thousands of sweltering customers.

SP AusNet pressed ahead with planned blackouts to ­almost 1000 properties in 14 towns to carry out "essential bushfire mitigation" maintenance, robbing householders of aircon, fans and running water for up to six hours.

Upwey, Cockatoo, Glenrowan West and Thoona were hardest hit by the power pole replacements along with other upgrades.

"We couldn't do the work any earlier because we were doing other critical maintenance. We don't take the ­decision lightly and we do apologise," said spokesman Jonathon Geddes.

AEMO says there is enough reserve supply for today's heat, barring an "extreme" event.

SP AusNet expected more "planned outages" to affect about 190 customers in towns including Wangaratta and Narre Warren East today.

Beryl Wooller from Thoona in the state's northeast, said: discovered the power was out when she got up to water the garden at 7am yesterday. "Surely it was not that desperate? The power poles were not going to fall down".

"I have a freezer and fridge stacked full of food. If we had known we would have planned to get out for the day and put off the weekly shop," Mrs Wooller said.

Despite SP AusNet saying residents were sent letters two weeks ago, some claimed they were not notified. Others said they did not receive an SMS advising works were being brought forward several hours to avoid the hottest part of the day.

Left: Waterbombing was used to combat the fire at Kangaroo Ground. Right: Beaufort firefighter Robin Hill cools off.
Photo: Jay Town / News Limited

Acting Premier Peter Ryan said the company had advised the work was urgent.

"If they put the work off and it is of an urgent nature and then some disaster occurs then of course there is the obvious commentary to be made," Mr Ryan said.

Thousand of customers in Bayswater were affected by a heat-related network fault for less than an hour from 2pm yesterday.

More than 1000 customers in Powercor and Jemena areas including Port Fairy, Point Cook, Stawell, Coburg and Somerton also suffered outages in stifling conditions.

The Australian Energy Market Operator expects Victoria's daily electricity consumption to exceed 10,000 megawatts from today until Friday - 50 per cent more than a typical January weekday - as millions crank up the air conditioning. - Herald Sun.