BOM meteorologist Christopher Arvier said both metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria would see temperatures reach the high 30s and low 40s over the next few days.

"Melbourne is forecast to reach a top of 38 degrees on Friday and inland parts of the state are likely to be into the low 40s," he said.

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"In the south, most locations will be reaching high 30s with the exception being the south-west of the state where sea breezes will keep locations such as Portland and Warrnambool to slightly more mild temperatures.

"The heat is going to continue into the evening on New Years Eve and we're likely to have a very, very warm night and another warm day on Saturday to kick off 2022."

Mr Arvier said the fire danger will also be high over the next few days.

"The danger will be high particularly across the west and north-west of the state due to the extreme heat," he said.

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"Fortunately winds aren't particularly strong, but there is still a fire risk there on hot days.

"The high fire dangers will continue into Saturday with those high temperatures as well as a risk of dry lightning across the state during the afternoon on Saturday and again on Sunday.

"Again, with this elevated fire danger, temperatures and lightning, it does increase the fire potential into the first part of 2022."

Temperatures on Saturday are set to reach the high 30s in Melbourne and some sea breeze in the afternoon, bringing some lower temperatures for the south.

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Central Victoria will see a high of 37 degrees and low of 19 degrees on Saturday, a high of 36 degrees and low of 15 degrees on Sunday before cooling down on Monday.

"We will then see lower temperatures in Melbourne on Sunday which will bring an end to this heat wave," Mr Arvier said.

"By Monday we will see a cooler southerly change across the state, so much cooler conditions next week."

Temperatures in central Victoria will remain in the mid-20s throughout next week and into the week after.

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