SCORCHING temperatures are tipped across the south-east this week as an autumn heatwave sweeps Queensland.
Bureau of Meteorology meteorologist Michael Gray said the south-east was experiencing a low-intensity heatwave which was likely to continue for the first half of the week.
"We've got warm air coming in from the north and hot air from inland so it's just building up in the south-east," Mr Gray said.
He said small pockets of Queensland were encountering severe heatwaves, including areas west of Brisbane around Esk and the west Lockyer Valley and the Wide Bay Burnett region.
"That's not to downplay the low-intensity heatwave," he said.
"It will certainly be hot, much above average in some parts of the south-east."
In Beaudesert, temperatures are set to peak at 38C on Tuesday and tip 30C every day this week.
Mr Gray said predicted highs in the first half of the week were about nine degrees above average.
In the Redlands, temperatures will hover in the low 30s early in the week, two to three degrees above average, before dropping to the high 20s about Thursday.
Mr Gray said temperatures across the south-east were expected to drop closer to normal by the weekend.
He urged residents to take the usual precautions to stay safe in the hot weather by drinking plenty of water and staying inside during the hottest parts of the day.
Storms were most likely to occur on Monday and Tuesday, he said.
The bureau also predicted overall warmer day and night-time temperatures for autumn, as well as below-average rainfall.
The predictions followed a sweltering summer, with the national average temperature more than two degrees above average.
