The temperature is expected to again climb past 30 degrees in parts of Victoria this week as the state shakes off the mild start to its summer.

Bureau of Meteorology’s duty forecaster Miriam Bradbury said the state had its first legitimate blast of summer heat on Monday, and more was on its way.

“This heat is originating across central and Western Australia, where severe to extreme heatwave conditions are persisting,” she said.

“The first burst of heat impacted Victoria yesterday, but a second, stronger pulse will intensify through WA from Thursday before moving into Victoria later this week and into the weekend.

“Northern and north-western parts of the state are most at risk, with temperatures generally 2 to 6 degrees above the December average expected between now and Sunday. Peaking at 6 to 10 degrees above average on Friday and Saturday.”

Saturday is set to be the hottest day for the state, with temperatures in Mildura, in the state’s north-west, forecast to hit 38 degrees, while nearby Swan Hill is likely to swelter with a top of 39 degrees. In Melbourne it’s expected the mercury will climb to 33 degrees on Saturday before conditions ease early next week.

Ms Bradbury said during La Nina events most of Victoria saw above-average rainfall, but this climate driver did not remove normal weather variations or patterns.

“This means that, overall, we are likely to see above-average rainfall, but on a day-by-day and even week-by-week scale, we will see a lot of ‘normal’ summer weather as well,” she said.