In Wagga, the Bureau of Meteorology is predicting a maximum temperature of 42 degrees, with that same top expected in the area around Tumut, where firefighters have been battling massive bushfires.

At nearby Tumbarumba, the temperature is expected to peak at 38 degrees.

But Saturday is expected to a cooler 32 degrees in Wagga, although there is no rain likely.

But there could be some good news from the bureau, which says the arrival of the monsoon season in northern parts of Australia could see cooler and wetter conditions in the southern parts of the country during February.

Wagga notched up a maximum temperature of 46.1 degrees on January 4, believed to be the city's hottest day on record.