Festivalgoers are being advised to take extra precautions going into the second week of the Tamworth Country Music Festival as temperatures are expected to soar to near record-breaking heights.
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St John Ambulance NSW has brought in around 30 volunteer medical personnel from all over the state to boost Tamworth's emergency response as temperatures are forecast to climb above 40 degrees.
This year the ambos say their chief concern is a "severe" heatwave the Bureau of Meteorology forecasts will hit Tamworth from Wednesday, January 26, through the final weekend of the festival.
"The heat that's forecast is a concern around patients presenting with heat-related illness, but we are being proactive in putting messaging out with council around advising people to keep sun safe," St John Ambulance events coordinator Peter Cameron said.
That messaging includes the classic slip-slap-slop in addition to drinking water, resting in the shade, and seeking help if needed.
St John Ambulance has personnel stationed in Bicentennial Park and on Peel Street every day from 8am to 10pm, and will also be at TRECC during major ticketed events.
In addition, the crew will have mobile bicycle emergency response teams patrolling on Friday and Saturday.
"I think we're well set up and well-staffed to deal with any presentations that come through to us. Council also has the water stations and misting stations as well," Mr Cameron said.
Thursday, January 25, is forecast to be the hottest day during the heatwave, reaching a high of 41 degrees.
It has the potential to be the hottest day Tamworth's annual music festival has ever seen, with the previous record being set on January 19, 2019, at 41.5 degrees.
Speaking of records, here are a few weather events that defined our festivals over the years.
The crown for driest country music festival goes to 2014, which saw less than 0.02 millimetres of rain across the entire month.
On the flip side, many locals will remember the infamous festival floods of 2004, in which almost 2000 campers were evacuated from the Riverside sporting fields after water inundated tents and camper vans were carried away across the flooded ovals.
Lastly, the coldest day ever experienced during a Tamworth Country Music Festival was in 2010, which saw two days' back-to-back lows down at 7.1 degrees.