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Hot, dry north-westerlies will average about 35 km/h, gusting to 55-60 km/h for the Sydney region, the Rural Fire Service said.

While Saturday can expect cooler conditions with a top in Sydney of 30 degrees, the lack of forecast rain means fire danger levels are likely to remain elevated for much of the coming week.

"What that means is if a fire was to start [on Friday], it's likely that could burn for many days," Ms Woodhouse said. "The total fire ban is a way to stop that before it happens."

A weak cool change should start moving up the NSW coast on Friday evening but will not reach Sydney until about Saturday morning.

Sydney's minimum on Friday morning will be a mild 21 degrees, while Saturday morning's low will only dip to 23 degrees, or about seven degrees above the November average.

"Wake up call'

Friday should be "a wake-up call" for many people after a relatively cool and damp October, Ben Shepherd, a senior spokesman for the NSW RFS, said.

Residents in bushfire prone areas should take time to plan what they would do if a fire breaks out in their area. They should also discuss with children what they will do if they are at home without their parents, Inspector Shepherd said.

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The Berejiklian government on Thursday announced it would significantly toughen jail sentences for illegally starting a bushfire.

The government will seek to increase the maximum jail sentence for NSW’s targeted bushfire offence from 14 years to 21 years.

“Deliberately starting a bushfire is a selfish and senseless act that can have catastrophic consequences, potentially wiping out land and homes, and causing injury or death to residents and livestock,” said Ms Berejiklian.

'Exceptionally warm'

Australia was "exceptionally warm" last month, with mean temperatures 1.83 degrees above the 1961-90 average, making it the fourth warmest October on record, the bureau said.

Minimum temperatures were the second warmest on record, behind only 2015.

Nationally, rainfall was 11 per cent higher than normal for the month. NSW posted its first above-average month of rain in 2018, collecting 10 per cent more than usual.

Temperatures remained on the warm side for NSW, with the state marking its third warmest October on record for mean temperatures, with readings 2.44 degrees above average.

For the first 10 months of 2018, NSW daytime temperatures are running at a record high.

For Sydney alone, average maximum temperatures were 0.7 degrees below average, the first sub-par reading for any month since March 2012. Minimum temperatures, though, were 1.4 degrees warmer than average, the bureau said.

While Sydney's October rainfall was twice the average at 167.6 millimetres, evaporation rates were almost as high at 160.6 millimetres meaning the rainfall deficient barely budged.

Elsewhere, the big dry has expanded beyond NSW and Queensland, with Tasmania recording its third-driest October on record as rainfall dived 60 per cent below average for the month.

Victoria was also dry, continuing its run this year of below-average monthly rainfall totals with less than half the usual October rain. By mean temperatures, it was also that state's fifth warmest October on record.