As it happened: Brisbane on Monday, October 27

Six of the last 10 days in Brisbane have topped 30 degrees, in a month when the average maximum temperature is 27.1 degrees.

After Sunday’s fierce storms which delivered a spectacular lightning display and large hail to south-east Queensland, the heat quickly intensified in Brisbane on Monday morning with the temperature hitting 34.2 degrees at 9.30am.

It reached 36.6 degrees shortly before midday, on the way to a forecast top of 37 degrees.

However, the city is set for a much cooler – and possibly wet – day on Tuesday due to a strong southerly change surging up the east coast.

A maximum temperature of 21 degrees is forecast for Tuesday – 16 degrees lower than Monday’s likely maximum – before Brisbane heats up again for the remainder of the week.

Brisbaneites are sweltering through the hottest October day in 20 years, with the temperature climbing to 36.6 degrees shortly before midday.

The last time it was this hot in October was in 2005, when Anthony Callea’s The Prayer was topping music charts and Peter Beattie was Queensland’s premier. That year, the temperature reached 36.3 degrees on October 7.

However, Brisbane’s hottest October day on record was set on October 23, 2004, when it climbed to 38.7 degrees.

There are still more than 22,000 homes and businesses without power following yesterday’s fierce storms, with Kenmore and Indooroopilly the most affected suburbs.

Today’s searing temperatures will be followed by a dramatic, cool change tomorrow when a top of 21 degrees is forecast.

State school teachers have been offered a new pay deal, with the Queensland government saying it will escalate the dispute to arbitration if the offer isn’t accepted by the end of the week.

Education Minister John-Paul Langbroek said the government’s final offer included significant additions, but it was holding firm on increasing base wages by 8 per cent over three years.

“The wage offer is one that’s been made to all the other unions and which has been accepted by all the others, so I’d be confident that with the extra things we’ve added [teachers will accept it],” Langbroek said.

He said the new offer included attraction and retention incentives – similar to those in the offer that has already been rejected – options to cash out leave, and a review of existing schemes.

The minister said the deal would also address workplace violence faced by teachers with a “safety task force that will include all the stakeholders” and new occupational strategy conditions.

The Queensland Teachers’ Union has emailed its members, asking them to vote on the deal by the end of the week. If the deal is accepted, the state would backpay teachers from October 1.

In the year since it took office, the Crisafulli government has quietly appointed a series of people with LNP connections to state boards without making any public announcements.

David Crisafulli’s first-term LNP government has been criticised for handing out “jobs for mates” – board roles for former politicians, candidates and those with other connections to the party – although the premier himself has insisted all new appointees had “the right skill set”.

Many have been revealed by ministers in Friday afternoon statements emailed to media. But an investigation by this masthead has found two-thirds of changes to the state’s 320 boards were not.

Read more here.

In the last hour, the temperature in Brisbane has climbed five degrees, making it 34.9 degrees in the city right now.

And it’s only going to keep climbing, with the temperature forecast to hit a sweltering 37 degrees at midday.

The weather bureau is predicting the temperature will remain around 37 degrees until 5pm.

More than 23,000 homes and businesses are still without power in Brisbane after yesterday’s wild storms – not ideal when it’s this hot.