The weather bureau says above-average temperatures will hang around for "the foreseeable future", with a warm air mass above most of Queensland showing no signs of moving on.
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The gloomy forecast comes after the central Queensland town of Blackall dropped to 30.7 degrees overnight, its warmest night on record, and the outback town of Winton broke its February record for the highest minimum temperature at 31.3 degrees, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
Brisbane only reached 33 degrees on Tuesday, two degrees below the forecast maximum, and residents woke to humidity above 80 per cent.
However, the river city was bracing for a top of 36 on Wednesday before temperatures were expected to cool down slightly, with an expected high of 34 on Thursday and 32 on Friday.
Elsewhere, Gatton was predicted to climb to 41 degrees on Wednesday and parts of the Darling Downs as well as the Wide Bay Burnett region were also expected to break the 40-degree barrier.
BoM meteorologist Annabelle Ford said the temperatures would drop on Friday and during the weekend, but remain above-average into next week.
She said that the same "hot, humid and unstable" air mass responsible for the warm weather was also the cause of the ongoing severe storm threat in the south-east.
Two days after a severe storm ripped through the south-east, more than 1000 Energex customers were still waiting for their electricity to be restored, as more wild weather hit the region on Tuesday afternoon.
Potentially severe storms were on the cards for Wednesday afternoon and evening, but were expected to mainly affect inland areas such as Toowoomba, Gold Coast hinterland, granite belt and border ranges. Damaging winds, heavy rain and hail were possible.
Meanwhile, Ms Ford said Tropical Cyclone Gita, which battered Tonga overnight as a category four system, was expected to generate a "large and powerful" swell across central and south-east Queensland beaches this weekend.
The weather bureau warned beaches south of Yeppoon would be affected, with the Gold and Sunshine Coast bracing for an easterly swell of two to three metres.
Ms Ford said Tropical Cyclone Gita was predicted to track west towards New Caledonia and then south, meaning the big swell could reach the Queensland coast as early as Friday and remain throughout the weekend.
With AAP
