Temperatures have reached record highs for September in at least 15 locations in South Australia, including several suburbs and localities in and around Adelaide

The temperature at Adelaide’s main city weather station at West Terrace/ngayirdapira had its highest September reading in 65 years when the mercury reached 34.4°C at 1:36 pm (ACST), however it just fell short of the September record of 35.1°C.

But September records were shattered in parts of the city’s northern and southern suburbs, and in the Adelaide Hills east of the city.

Record-breaking readings in the Adelaide area this Tuesday, September 29, included:

Parafield Airport in Adelaide’s north reached 35.6°C, its hottest September day in 69 years of records, breaking the old record of 35.0°C.

Edinburgh in Adelaide’s north reached 35.2°C, which eclipsed the old September record of 34.9°C. The site has 53 years of temperature records.

The Noarlunga weather station on Adelaide’s southern outskirts exceeded the old September record of 31.5°C by nearly two degrees, reaching 33.2°C.

The weather station just below the summit of 710-metre Mount Lofty in the Adelaide Hills, reached 27.9°C, breaking the old record of 27.0°C.

Record-breaking readings elsewhere in SA this Tuesday, September 29, included:

The mercury reached 35.8°C at Murray Bridge Airport, which broke the old September record of 35.2°C.

Minlaton Airport on the Yorke Peninsula got to 35.2°C, which shattered the old September record of 33.0°C by more than two degrees.

It reached 34.4°C at Hindmarsh Island, near the mouth of the Murray River about 100 kilometres SE of Adelaide. The site has only been operational since 2003, but the old September record was considerably cooler at 32.1°C.

Cape Willoughby, at the far eastern tip of Kangaroo Island, got to 28.1°C. The old monthly record at this long-running site with at least 57 years of temperature records was 27.5°C.

Minimum temperature records also broken

It’s also worth noting that three South Australian towns had their warmest September night on record ahead of today’s daytime heat.

They included Tarcoola, in SA’s North West Pastoral forecast district, which was the warmest recorded SA location overnight with a minimum of 24.7°C – a record for the site in data stretching back 28 years.

Why so warm in South Australia this Tuesday?

Image: 850 hPa temperatures and mean sea level pressure for Australia at 9:30 am (ACST) on Tuesday, September 29, 2026, showing the warm air being directed towards SA. Source: Weatherzone.

Northerly winds circulating around the high pressure system centred off the NSW coast funnelled warm air from Australia’s interior directly towards central, southern and eastern SA.

But the heat won't last long.

A series of approaching troughs and weakening cold fronts will slice at least five degrees off Tuesday’s maximums at most SA locations on Wednesday, with further cooling into Thursday and Friday ahead of a mostly clear but relatively cool first weekend of October for much of the state.