New Zealand Local Weather Forum
Weather Discussion => International => Topic started by: Mark on January 09, 2023, 08:00:14 PM
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It was a cold 2022 across Australia:
The country suffered a colder-than-average winter (coldest ever for some locales, including Brisbane), a colder-than-average autumn, and a record-cold start to summer (which brought the country’s coldest-ever summer temperature).
Focusing on Sydney, the Habour City just shivered through a cool December, capping off what has been an exceptionally-cool year. For the first time in weather books dating back to 1859, Sydney failed to reach 32C (89.6F) throughout the entire year — this despite the city’s ever-increasing urban heat island (UHI) effect.
Anomalous cold dragged up from the Antarctic gripped swathes of the country in December, not just Sydney, and busted hundreds of low temperature records throughout the month — most notably in Queensland and New South Wales.
And looking ahead (see below), ‘blues’ will continue to be the theme moving forward as a rare third La Nina (cooling) combined with something of a ‘volcanic winter‘ (caused by Hunga-Tonga’s mesospheric eruption) extend through the summer:
https://electroverse.co/uk-avalancheextreme-freeze-russia-mughal-blocked-sydney-1859-greenland-grows/
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A "once in a lifetime" flood has devastated parts of the Kimberley, in outback Western Australia. Farmers in particular have warned it will take months to recover, and politicians say the cost could be in the billions.
https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/0nIHWJqKahPFpqE_-LUFt00_1EA=/191x113:1198x680/1200x0/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2F3e595004-d60c-41cf-b606-f0f4bfd2985e
https://www.9news.com.au/national/weather-australia-2023-wild-weather-extremes-in-pictures-floods-storms-bushfires-snow/751a8a0c-529c-4b2a-9942-9ec15a58969b
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Heavy rain is set to smash parts of Queensland and bring with it a high risk of flooding.
Forecasters have predicted parts of the state could see its heaviest rain in years, with potential rainfall totals between 100mm to 150mm or even "even isolated totals of 200mm per day".
The rain will bear down across a broad area from Saturday and continue through to the middle of next week.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/queensland-heavy-rain-flash-flooding-riverine-flooding-weather-forecast-australia-heat-weekend-january-14-15-bureau-of-meteorology/4acfceda-7178-4856-9ebf-054ec4419b90
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Another region of the planet holding unusually-cold has been Australia, particularly southern and eastern states.
To recap: The Aussie continent posted a colder-than-average-winter in 2022–coldest on record for the likes of Brisbane; its coldest spring in decades–coldest-ever Nov for the likes of Forbes and Ivanhoe; and its lowest-ever summer temperature on Dec 9–the -7C (19.4F) at Perisher Valley (with NSW seeing its fifth-coldest Dec in books dating back to the 1800s, with a nationwide anomaly of -0.85C).
For many, the chills have spilled-over into 2023, with Sydney, for example, seeing its longest spell of days below 30C in 140-years.
https://electroverse.co/snowy-india-summer-cold-australia-record-cold-from-canada-to-trinidad-arctic-outbreak-for-europe/
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Rain fell and lightning flashed across Sydney tonight as a storm rolled in following intense heat through the day.
Upwards of 20mm fell on some parts of Sydney, with the slight reprieve coming after it reached 38°C in the western suburbs on Saturday – approaching potentially record-breaking temperatures.
And there's more on the way, with Sydney forecast for a top of 27 degrees on Sunday, as the weather tracks five to 10 degrees above daytime averages for February.
READ MORE: Man charged after allegedly assaulting Sydney woman on her evening run
Bondi Beach is already busy this morning as Sydney prepares for a scorcher.
Bondi Beach is already busy this morning as Sydney prepares for a scorcher. (Nine)
Some Sydney rail lines were shut down, along with the NorthConnex tunnel.
Fires meanwhile broke out in Victoria as the state sweltered, with warnings current for Northwood, Moornapa, Toolome, Woolenook, Glenmore, Ingliston, and Rowsley.
South Australian firefighters have brought a blaze at Port Lincoln under control, but tomorrow Adelaide is set for a top of 31°C.
Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Miriam Bradbury said the heatwave was continuing to impact parts of the east, including New South Wales and southern Queensland.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/weather-news-forecast-heatwave-sweeps-country-as-fire-crews-work-to-contain-port-lincoln-fire/d791e9ba-9676-4d19-95df-127cd46c3a6d
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Australia just experienced its coolest start to a year since 2002 as the ongoing influence of La Nina helped suppress temperatures over large parts of the country.
The national mean temperature in Australia during January was equal to the 1961 to 1990 average, making it the country’s coolest January in 21 years.
Image: Mean temperature deciles in January 2023. Source: Bureau of Meteorology
Daytime maximum temperatures were particularly cool across large swathes of northern and central Australia, thanks to abundant cloud cover, frequent rain and the cooling effect of water evaporating from the sodden landscape.
Australia’s mean maximum temperature last month came in 0.3ºC below the 1961 to 1990 average, also the coolest national mean maximum since 2002.
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/australias-coldest-january-in-21-years/1078186
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Australia has been enduring anomalous, record-breaking COLD over the past 12-or-so months, with a visible cooling trend now entering its 10th year (at a rate of -0.132C per decade since 2013–and increasing):
Following the nation’s colder-than-average winter and spring of 2022, and summer of 2022-23–which delivered Australia’s lowest-ever summer temperature–the chill is now threatening to extend into autumn 2023–which starts Wednesday.
Hundreds upon hundreds of long-standing low temperature benchmarks have fallen in recent months; the most recent being the 13.7C (56.7F) observed on Lord Howe Island on Sunday morning — the island’s lowest ever February reading.
https://electroverse.co/record-cold-australia-summer-snow-new-zealand-flakes-in-hollywood-greenland-smb-gains/
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One capital city in Australia is seeing temperatures heat up for the start of autumn.
Sydney is forecast for highs of 35°C on Monday, which if reached, will make it the city's hottest day in two years - since January 26, 2021.
As hot air from the interior is pushed towards the east coast the mercury will continue to rise across the weekend before jumping to the mid-30s on Monday.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/sydney-record-heat-autumn-weather-hottest-day-two-years/113ba229-254b-478c-9dca-0d1c3573e0d6
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off the back of three consecutive La Niña events could fuel record-challenging grass fires across Australia later this year, warns a former Commissioner of Fire and Rescue NSW.
Unprecedented rain and flooding in recent years, fuelled by three back-to-back La Niña events, has created a boom in vegetation growth across large areas of Australia. But this protracted La Niña episode is almost over and there are early signs that El Nino may return later this year.
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/australia-at-risk-of-worst-grass-fires-in-49-years-report-warns/1115815
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Residents in Burketown have been told to evacuate as floods compromise sewerage systems and cut off the Queensland town's power supply.
Police are encouraging residents to leave the small outback town, about 430 kilometres from Mount Isa, as it experiences record-breaking flooding, with warnings in place along the Nicholson, Gregory and Leichhardt Rivers.
"Sewerage to the town has been compromised and power to the town will be cut off today," Queensland Police said in a statement.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/weather-news-forecast-queensland-brisbane-sunshine-coast-gold-coast-in-for-drenching/70340df0-f685-402b-b615-c5313aed0281
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Perth just had its third driest summer in 147 years of records, with the city only receiving 1.4 mm of rain during the last three months.
Summer is Perth’s driest time of year and in an average season, the city would only receive about 40 mm of rain. But even for its driest season, this summer has been exceptionally parched in Perth.
Image: Perth’s climatology showing Perth’s average monthly rainfall using green bars.
The official rain gauge in Perth only received 1.4 mm of rain between the start of December 2022 and the end of February 2023. This is the city’s third lowest summer total in records dating back to 1876, beaten only by 0.8 mm in 1974-75 and 0.2 mm in 2009-10.
Perth’s paltry rainfall this summer was recorded on only two days, with 1.0 mm in mid-December, 0.4 mm in early January, and nothing hitting the gauge in February.
While winter rainfall in Perth is frequent and heavy thanks to regular cold front activity, the city’s summer rainfall is more dependent on moisture being dragged down from the tropics. This can happen when tropical lows and cyclones drift south into the mid-latitudes, or when moisture is drawn down a West Coast Trough.
Unfortunately for Perth’s thirsty parks and gardens, all of the tropical cyclones that have developed to the northwest of Australia this season have not brought moisture down to southwestern Australia.
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/one-of-perths-driest-hottest-summers-on-record/1125334
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Sydney just registered its hottest March in 165 years of records, with the first month of autumn coming in warmer than all of summer.
Despite a chilly start to Friday (minimum temperature of 14.3ºC, 3.3ºC below average), Sydney managed to reach 25.7ºC shortly after lunchtime.
This was enough to push the city’s average maximum temperature for the month up to 27.6ºC, beating the previous March record of 27.1ºC from 2006.*
What makes Sydney’s March heat even more impressive is that it followed a relatively mild summer. Based on daytime temperatures, March was hotter than December, January and February, which has only happened five other times in records dating back to 1859.
In addition to being a hot month in Sydney, it was also the city’s driest March in 13 years. Sydney’s Observatory Hill weather station received just 54 mm of rain this month, well below the long-term average of 132 mm.
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/sydneys-hottest-march-on-record/1185395
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Chilly conditions are forecast for much of the country this Easter long weekend with a smattering of rain also expected.
Last night dangerous thunderstorms prompted warnings across NSW, the ACT and Queensland but these have since been cancelled by the Bureau of Meteorology.
Dean Narramore from the BoM told Today the cold front that brought "severe" storms to parts of NSW and Queensland is heading south.
READ MORE: Easter long weekend trading hours 2023
A storm rolled in over Sydney and drenched parts of the city and beyond last night.
A storm rolled in over Sydney and drenched parts of the city and beyond last night. (9News)
"We saw five centimetres of hail around Yass and 10 to 12 centimetre hailstones in parts of the Darling Downs," he said.
"Thankfully that's cleared. East coast looking fine, dry but windy in the coming days."
This weekend parts of South Australia, southern Victoria, and Tasmania will bear the brunt of the cold and wet weather.
The sun will shine in Sydney and down to Wollongong but the wind will bring down the temperature. Further north in the Lake Macquarie region there will be showers.
Large parts of Queensland will be warm and sunny.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/easter-long-weekend-weather-forecast-2023-state-by-state-guide-australia/3be72569-29ef-4019-85c9-1b8070e500e5
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NewsNational
Melbourne could have its coldest Easter in more than 70 years
By Serena Seyfort
7:58am Apr 5, 2023
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Melbourne is set to experience its coldest Easter Sunday in more than 70 years, with a burst of unusually cold mid-autumn weather on the way, according to Weatherzone.
The Easter Long Weekend is forecast to be cold, wet and windy in the city, despite the warm weather this week.
The city will reach 26C tomorrow before a cold snap will set in on Friday, with a combination of showers, possible storms and clouds as a frigid air mass passes over Australia from the Southern Ocean.
READ MORE: Sisters say ex-principal Malka Leifer's guilty verdict 'means the world'
Forecast 850 hPa temperature on Easter Sunday morning, showing a cold air mass passing over southeastern Australia. (Weatherzone)
Daytime temperatures will to get into the low 20s in Melbourne on Friday, according to Weatherzone, before the weather gets even colder for Easter Sunday.
"South to southwesterly winds will draw in progressively colder air into Melbourne throughout the weekend, along with more showers and blustery winds," Weatherzone meteorologist Ben Domensino said.
"Daytime temperatures are only expected to reach around 18C on Saturday, 15C on Sunday and 16C on Monday.
"The last time Melbourne had an Easter Sunday at or below 15C was in 1943, when the temperature only climbed to 14.3C."
The cold air is also forecast to potentially "a dusting of snow" on the mainland Alps.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/easter-weather-melbourne-could-have-its-coldest-easter-in-more-than-70-years/eadefd74-561d-4fbb-8eb0-f7486d93470d
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The West has been busy felling low temperature records this week, including the new monthly lows set at Carnarvon Airport (8.9C/48F) and Tennant Creek Airport (11.5C/52.7F) — to name just two.
Looking ahead, latest GFS runs reveal there’s much more where that came from, with ‘blues’ and ‘purples’ set to intensify and infect more and more of the continent as April gives way to May:
https://electroverse.info/records-fall-down-under-april-snowstorm-in-kazakhstan-north-americas-spring-freeze-europes-arctic-outbreak/
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https://electroverse.info/australia-suffers-record-lows-and-early-snows-pakistan-snow-cold-kenya-europes-freezing-april-spills-into-may/
Anomalous cold and snow hit areas of New South Wales and Victoria over the weekend –below 500m (1640ft)– as winter arrived early across swathes of Australia.
Following a string of colder-than-average seasons, autumn 2023 looks set to extend Australia’s chilly and snowy trend.
From the snowfields to the Southern Highlands of NSW, the combination of brutally cold polar air and significant moisture resulted in widespread early-season snowfall.
Already, even in early May, the first sub-alpine snow of the year has hit, delivering substantial totals to the likes of Brown Mountain, Nimmitabel and Perisher Valley.
“It was the first one, and it was a big one,” Nimmitabel resident Rod Coleman said. “It just didn’t stop … it snowed all day,” something Coleman called incredibly rare for the time of year.
Accumulations of as much as 20cm (8 inches) settled across the likes of Falls Creek, Hotham, and Robertson where snow and ice warnings are now commonplace — a full five weeks before the beginning of the official snow season, no less.
Snow falls at Hotham and Falls Creek at the weekend [Vail Resorts].
The Great Alpine Road between Harrietville and Hotham Heights was closed yesterday after several snow-related crashes.
A car, which was towing a camper trailer, slid off the road and rolled several meters down the mountain: “The caravan slipped off first and that resulted in dragging the four-wheel drive and the two occupants over the edge with it,” said SES deputy unit controller Mark Warner. Fortunately, there were no fatalities, something Warner puts down to sheer luck.
Below are recent shots of Namadgi National Park, NSW:
#Australia | Winters have come early for Australia as snow falls in the Namadgi National Park, turning roads and regions into a white blanket. Watch!#AustraliaWinters #Snowfall #Sydney #Winters pic.twitter.com/5Pbswe0gAk
— News18 (@CNNnews18) May 8, 2023
As well as the snow, monthly temperature records also fell on Sunday, such as Cooma’s maximum of 1.7C (35F). Omeo, Bombala, and Canberra were among the others to set coldest-ever May days yesterday, with Canberra struggling to just 7.8C (46F).
While elsewhere, official thermometers in Sydney sank to 7.1C (44.8F) late Sunday evening (at 10:36 pm), making for the city’s coldest temperature this early into autumn for 85 years, since 1938.
Despite the agenda-driving BoM calling for a “hotter-than-average” autumn of 2023, the exact opposite continues to play out.
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Anomalous and often times record-breaking cold has been buffeting the country for the past few years, and 2023 has been no different.
Record lows are falling left, right and center, from Perth to Sydney, and most recently, to Griffith (NSW): Here, thermometers dipped to -2.3C (27.9F) over the weekend which made for the city’s lowest May temperature ever recorded.
This May, a group of PhD students conducted research on Aussie snowpatches.
https://www.facebook.com/100000193569690/videos/1701745616922799/
https://electroverse.info/australia-year-round-snow-rare-may-snow-hits-kashmir-frosts-europe-surprise-geomagnetic-storm/
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Australia's warm start to winter has seen records tumble, but you wouldn't know it depending on where you are, with a stormy "thundersnow" event also hammering our alpine regions this week.
Weatherzone reported that large parts of Australia experienced warmer than usual temperatures for the first fortnight of June, particularly in the central, eastern, and south-eastern parts of the country.
Melbourne has had its sixth warmest start to winter in 169 years of records, with an average minimum temperature of 10 degrees in the past fortnight.
READ MORE: Ben Roberts-Smith breaks silence as he returns to Australia
People watch the sunrise at Mackenzie's Point, Bondi.
It's been a warmer start than usual to winter. (Brook Mitchell)
Longreach in Queensland averaged a maximum of 28.6 degrees in that same time - five degrees above average and the town's warmest winter start since 1897.
Adelaide's mean temperature was 16.1 degrees - its second warmest beginning to winter since 1887.
But it's still winter and that has meant snow in Australia's south-eastern mountains, although this time with an unusual companion.
READ MORE: Nottingham killer suspect caught on camera moments before stabbing
Thundersnow
A graph showing lightning strikes coinciding with snowfall over the Australian Alps. (Weatherzone)
Weatherstone reported a flurry of "thundersnow" earlier this week in the Australian Alps.
A map shows multiple lightning strikes around Thredbo Village near Mount Kosciuszko.
As Weatherzone explains, lightning usually comes with warm air, but it can also strike when it's cold enough to snow.
"With most thunderstorms, you have relatively warm air sitting below cooler air, which creates an unstable atmosphere and causes the warmer air to rise," meteorologist Ben Domensino said.
READ MORE: Teachers raised issue about Hunter bus driver
Thundersnow
Snow is falling in south-eastern Australia with more expected. (Weatherzone)
"In snowy areas, there is generally only a small temperature contrast between the surface and upper levels, so there's usually not enough instability to create the uplift needed for thunderstorm development.
"But when you've got a very cold airmass, there can be enough of a temperature contrast between surface and upper level temperatures to make storms."
Another snowy weather system is expected next week.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/record-warm-start-to-winter-thundersnow-in-australia-mountains/900d6e04-a046-4fc3-918d-e8e5bc23f9e8
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A polar air mass once again sent temperatures crashing across Australia.
All-time records for the month of June were broken in the West yesterday, at the likes of Kalgoorlie-Boulder Airport (9C/48.2F) and Rottnest Island (5C/41F)–for example.
Western Australia’s cold extended into this morning, too (June 27) with Perth Airport shivering through -0.6C (30.1F) — its 4th lowest temperature ever recorded. The last time the state capital got that cold was July 2012.
Other notable lows include Jandakot’s -0.9C (30.4F), Collie East’s -2.3C (27.9F), Gingin’s -2.4C (27.7F), and Wandering’s -2.5C (27.5F).
Unseasonable lows and widespread rains (and pockets of snows) are stretching from the Kimberley in WA to Victoria. Day time highs are holding some 10C below average, and are forecast to drop as much as 14C below the norm towards by Thursday.
Bureau of Meteorology’s Jessica Lingard attempts to explain away the record cold, attributing it a natural origin: The cold front pushed cool air into the Perth metro area, she said, and a lack of cloud cover exacerbated the freezing temperatures.
https://electroverse.info/australia-cold-rare-flakesnew-caledonia-cools-feet-of-snow-utah/
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Continuing the trend of the past few years, Australia has been holding anomalously cool throughout 2023.
And continuing the theme of this week, yesterday, the South Australia outback shivered through its coldest June day on records.
Temperatures barely budged in some parts of SA on Tuesday, with many inland areas experiencing a near-isothermic day, reports weatherzone.com.au.
In Port Augusta –for example– the temperature struggled to high of just 10.1C (50.7F) during the 24 hours to 9am Wednesday — making it the city’s coldest June day ever recorded (with data from several weather stations collectively dating back to 1957).
Similarly in Marree: while the high for Tuesday came in at 11.1C (52F), the BoM’s new electronic probes –and unique way for reporting temperatures– meant Wednesday morning’s 11.9C (53.4F) went down as Tuesday’s daily high — uh-huh. Regardless, this was still Marree’s lowest June daily maximum temperature since 1956, and its coldest day for any month since 1998.
The chill extended across Kalgoorlie-Boulder, too, in Western Australia. The city’s recent daily high of 8.9C (48F) has been confirmed as its coldest June day in record history.
https://electroverse.info/australia-monthly-lows-bom-lies-deep-summer-snow-mammoth/
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Sydney has recorded its driest start to winter since 1938, but a short trip to the south, Australia’s major ski resorts have welcomed impressive snowfalls and, in line with recent years, have formed a solid base to start the season.
This inverse relationship between coastal rain and snow on the Australian Alps is linked to the impacts of the Southern Annular Mode (SAM), a natural –though somewhat unpredictably– climate driver which is tied to the latitudinal extent of westerly winds circumnavigating Antarctica.
This winter, SAM has mostly been in a negative phase, a setup that allows for cold westerly winds to expand north from the Southern Ocean. While westerlies bring dry weather to the NSW coast, they are perfect for producing snow on the alps.
As a result, the natural snow depth across Aussie snowfields is already accumulating, even at this early stage of the season.
Well-over a meter (3.3ft) has been officially reported on NSW slopes; Victoria’s Falls Creek posted 90cm (2.95ft) on Wednesday — substantially above the July 11 average of 58cm (1.9ft); while a “strong blanketing” has also clipped Perisher Valley, reports Aussie news outlets.
https://electroverse.info/4ft-strands-trekkers-in-india-extreme-cold-strikes-tanzania-ekurhuleni-electricity-limit-aussie-snowfields-celebrate/
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A home in Sydney's eastern suburbs has been struck by lightning as storms roll across the city.
Emergency services were called to the property in Maroubra at 5.30pm this afternoon.
Resident Simon Hodge was at home when he heard a bang followed by a knock on the door.
READ MORE: Voice to parliament referendum date revealed
A home in Sydney's south has been struck by lighting as storms roll across the city.Emergency services were called to the property in Maroubra in the city's eastern suburbs at 5.30pm this afternoon.
A home in Sydney's south has been struck by lighting as storms roll across the city. (Supplied)
"The biggest bang I've ever heard in my life, just scared the bejesus out of me," he said.
"Next thing I know, someone was banging on the door saying lightning struck the building and there's smoke coming out of it."
Firefighters and ambulance crews attended the scene.
It comes as Australia's east coast is experiencing storms, with the potential for large hail and damaging winds across parts of New South Wales and Queensland.
An estimated 10,000 lightning bolts lit up Sydney's skies today.
Residents in the two states woke up to relatively dry and clear before the weather system brought showers and storm clouds to the skies by mid-afternoon.
"They're bringing hail and they're bringing strong winds throughout much of south-eastern Queensland and the northeast of New South Wales," Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Angus Hines said.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/weather-australia-national-storms-loom-over-new-south-wales-and-queensland/98e1dc54-aede-4ea3-82f2-d9e93386a2b1
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Perth has set a new record for its hottest-ever September day as a mass of hot air moves across Western Australia.
At 3.40pm (local time) the state capital registered 34.3 degrees, beating its previous high of 34.2 set in 2014.
It wasn't the only part of the state to set a new temperature record for the first month of spring on Wednesday.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/western-australia-weather-geraldton-sets-september-temperature-record-38-degrees/f1d8d968-773c-40a3-8916-7c9300f3f6ad
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Sydney and other parts of NSW are being smashed by yet another storm.
Weather warnings for severe thunderstorms have been issued all the way from the Northern Beaches to the Illawarra Coast with the BOM warning of one massive storm cell merging.
Hail and "squally" winds are also possible, forecasters say.
Sydney storm hits (Nine)
All the #storm cells have merged into one #squall line, with ap updated Detailed #SevereThunderstormWarning map reflecting this. Expect some #squally winds and possibly some #hail as the line passes overhead. Here's the latest #warning details: https://t.co/WGQb8BKcco pic.twitter.com/Djb4OrLr2R
— Bureau of Meteorology, New South Wales (@BOM_NSW) December 27, 2023
Hail fell in Camden in the city's south-west, carpeting gardens in white.
Sydney's Harbour Bridge almost disappeared in the dreary mist.
Thursday in the city will see a return to sunny weather, with temperatures expected to hit 30 degrees.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/sydney-storms-hail-nsw-weather-warning-warning/b4f7b20f-1aee-41bf-8b1d-7dd8b804922a
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Eastern Australia is grappling with the repercussions of heavy rainfall that has sparked flash flooding in parts of Southeastern Queensland and Northern New South Wales. Over the past 72 hours, these regions have endured an intense deluge, with some areas witnessing more than two months' worth of rainfall. In a startling report, the town of Springbrook in Queensland recorded a staggering 514 mm (20 inches) of rain in a span of 48 hours, significantly overshooting the average for January.
https://www.sott.net/article/487397-Flash-floods-ravage-eastern-Australia-following-heavy-summer-rainfall-20-inches-in-48-hours
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A delayed start to the wet season has resulted in stifling heat in Darwin amid the city's hottest start to a year since 1935, Weatherzone data has revealed.
Warm nights and high humidity meant Darwin's minimum temperature only fell to a clammy 29.9 degrees overnight on January 1.
The following daytime maximum temperatures of 35.3 degrees on Monday and 35.6 degrees on Tuesday made it the hottest start to a year in almost 90 years.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/darwin-records-warmest-start-to-the-year-in-almost-20-years/cb6c5f6d-d07f-4d05-a682-d591edb561a3
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Residents in north-eastern Victoria are bracing for further flooding in the coming days, after heavy rainfall inundated the state and forced two towns to evacuate.
An evacuation order was issued for parts of the Goulburn Valley town of Seymour, in central Victoria, shortly before noon on Monday, before similar orders were put in place for sections of nearby Yea.
An emergency evacuation order was issued for the northern Victorian town of Rochester on Monday evening.
About 30 homes in Goornong, about 30km north-east of Bendigo, and six homes in Redesdale have been evacuated after water inundated the properties.
Emergency services said the rain was expected to move to Shepparton and Wangaratta midweek.
https://youtu.be/C77ogRdyaPg
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While Townsville escaped major destruction when Cyclone Kirrily crossed the coast as a category 2 storm overnight into Friday, the threat isn't over for North Queensland.
The storm has weakened to a tropical low but continues to produce heavy to intense rainfall with possible damaging winds forecast for parts of the northern interior and western Queensland across the weekend.
The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) warns there could be "dangerous and life-threatening flash flooding possible from early Saturday morning for areas between Winton, Richmond and Cloncurry".
https://www.9news.com.au/national/weather-news-ex-tropical-cyclone-kirrily-storm-update-wind-rain-flooding/322031be-72a3-415d-b106-2c930a52cc08
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Brisbanites would likely not have slept soundly last night.
Hot and oppressively humid northerly component winds are being funnelled over Qld’s east coast at the moment thanks to the remnants of Tropical Cyclone Kirrily in the state’s west and a high pressure system over the Coral Sea.
Overnight, the temperature in Brisbane reached a minimum of 27.2°C – its hottest night since February 2017 – but the stifling humidity meant the overnight temperatures never felt cooler than 33.7°C. The mercury in nearby suburbs Archerfield and Amberley did drop to slightly cooler temperatures – 26.4°C and 25.8°C respectively – but it was still their hottest night of any month in almost seven years and their hottest January night in 20 years.
Meanwhile, spare a thought for Cape Moreton, the northernmost tip of Moreton Island just offshore of Brisbane, which sweltered through its hottest night of any month since February 2004 and its hottest January night in 97 years, with a minimum temperature of 26.1°C.
Indeed, overnight temperatures soared across the state. In the satellite image below, observations are displayed for temperature (red squares) and wind (yellow barbs) at 5 am this morning, around the time when most locations were close to their minimum temperatures. As you can see, nowhere in the state reached temperatures below 23°C, except in a small area between Townsville and Tully. But in the east, those temperatures were exceptionally hot for this time of year.
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/brisbane-swelters-through-hottest-night-in-years/1762829
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Residents in Victoria's west have described how out-of-control fires came close to claiming their homes.
The bushfire at Dereel, in Victoria's west, started just after 6pm yesterday, prompting an emergency 'leave now' warning for residents living nearby.
The blaze came just metres from homes in the town.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/victorian-bushfires-fastmoving-bushfire-treated-as-suspicious-as-large-blaze-is-contained/dbed15a6-be69-4d99-9c81-8a3390131ea9
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Brisbane just tossed and turned through its warmest summer on record based on overnight minimum temperatures, with the city also registering one of its top two warmest summers on record based on the mean temperature.
A combination of abnormally high temperatures and atmospheric moisture made Brisbane feel abnormally hot and sweaty this summer.
All three months of the season registered minimum and maximum temperatures that were roughly 1-2°C above the long-term average. This resulted in December, January and February all ranking in the top 6 respective months on record for mean temperature.
Brisbane’s average minimum temperature for summer as a whole came in at 22.5ºC. This is about 1.3ºC above the average from the last 24 years, and the city’s highest summer minimum temperature on record. The previous record was 22.3C during the summer of 1979-80.
Impressively, Brisbane failed to drop below 20ºC during the first two months of 2024. This 60-day spell breaks the previous record of 59 days above 20ºC from 1978. Current forecasts suggest the next one-to-two weeks could stay above 20ºC as well, extending the new record.
?????Brisbane has now recorded 59 consecutive nights at or above 20 °C, having not dropped below 20 °C so far in 2024. This equals the previous record run of nights above 20 °C that occurred in 1978. Minimums are expected to stay above 20 °C this week. https://t.co/bhJyrBIxVn pic.twitter.com/AmCGL0utkg
— Bureau of Meteorology, Queensland (@BOM_Qld) February 28, 2024
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/record-summer-warmth-in-brisbane/1824571
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The past few days have seen monthly low temperature records fall across Australia.
In no particular order...
The high of 19.3C (66.7F) at Oakey, Queensland made for the town's coldest March day in books dating back to 1973, breaking the old 1980 record by 0.4C.
At 21.1C (70F), Brisbane Airport tied its lowest March max set in 1988, dating to 1951.
Staying in Queensland, the recent 16.9C (62.4F) at Applethorpe is just 1.4C shy of the state record for March.
Watarrka, NT registered a max of 15.8C (60.41F) which is 0.3C below its old monthly benchmark and also the 12th coldest March day in the Northern Territory.
Wulungurru's 17.7C (63.9F) bests the old 2021 Tmax by a 1.5C (also, the 13.7C (56.7F) Tmin there smashed the 2007 record by a 2.3C).
Point Lookout's 22.9C (73.2F) busted the old record by 0.3C; St George, at 19.7C (67.5F), also suffered its coldest March day, again by 0.3C; and in Rabbit Flat, the 22.4C (72.3F) there made for the second-coolest March day on record (only 2021 is lower).
Territory Grape Farm has gone and endured a daily high a full 1.3C below the previous 2021 record; while Arltunga's 16.3C (61.3F) went a decimal better, coming out 1.4C below the record low set, again, during the historically cold March of 2021.
Australia's early-season cold has proven fierce and widespread:
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An exceptional soaking across outback Australia has broken all-time rain records, caused dry Northern Territory rivers to flood, and will supply another boost to waters already flowing south into Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre.
The current rain event has triggered flood watches for more than 40 Queensland and NT rivers, prolonging a productive northern wet season which has brought frequent soakings deep into the country's interior.
And there's still more rain to come this week — the spell of showers and thunderstorms will continue across much of northern and central Australia this week, before possibly moving south this Easter, and potentially dampening the back half of the long weekend in parts of South Australia, New South Wales and Victoria.
https://www.sott.net/category/4-Earth-Changes
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The severe drought predicted by Australian climate agencies has not materialized. Neither does the blazing constant heat.
This week, the Australian continent is heading into an early fall, with temperature anomalies up to 28°C below multi-decadal norms affecting wide regions
https://eike-klima-energie.eu/2024/03/24/kaeltereport-nr-12-2024/
(http://)
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There is set to be heavy rain and storms spread across Queensland's south, New South Wales's east and Victoria's north for the end of the week.
The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) warns the severe weather will get worse today before it gets better, forecasting conditions will begin to ease late on Saturday.
Severe weather warnings are already in place for parts of NSW, though a thunderstorm warning has been cancelled for Sydney as of this morning.
To see the latest BoM weather warnings click here.
Synoptic map for Friday, April 5, 2024
Synoptic map for Friday, April 5, 2024 (Weatherzone)
The unstable weather situation along Australia's east coast could even produce the weather phenomenon dubbed a "black nor-easter", which is when storm clouds so dark and heavy effectively turn the skies black during the day.
"Areas of heavy rain and gusty showers are forecast to develop south of about Newcastle during Friday, including over the ranges and tablelands," the BoM forecasts.
"Severe weather is expected to gradually shift south overnight, easing later on Saturday as the trough moves east to the Tasman Sea."
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https://www.9news.com.au/national/weather-news-black-noreaster-possible-severe-storms-flooding-warnings-new-south-wales-queensland/adae5e80-711a-4626-88af-b8a9db606105
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https://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/other/australia-weather-millions-of-residents-shiver-through-coldest-morning-in-months-what-the-weather-looks-like-for-sydney-brisbane-melbourne/ar-BB1ln9F7
Millions of Aussies have shivered through their coldest morning in months with freezing temperatures to continue and gale-force winds to hit the country.
A low-pressure system was forming just off the coast of New South Wales and drawing in arctic south-westerly winds on Wednesday.
Much of the state shivered through its coldest morning since October with Sydneysiders waking up to 11.9C and Newcastle recording 13.6C.
The freezing conditions crept into Queensland where Toowoomba recorded 8C - seven degrees colder than any other morning so far this year.
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The first snow of the year has fallen on Australian ski resorts in New South Wales and Victoria, ahead of schedule.
It's largely been a cold and wet start to autumn down under, with a host of monthly low temperature records falling. That anomalous chill has now intensified into April, and is resulting in early-season snow coating Aussie ski fields.
Thredbo and Perisher in NSW, as well as Hotham, Mount Baw Baw and Mount Buller in Victoria are among those reporting a dumping of early-April snow — a full two months before resorts open to skiers and snowboarders.
"Someone must've shaken up our snow globe overnight. Winter mode has been well and truly activated," reads a recent Tredbo post, with the accompanying video:
https://electroverse.substack.com/p/yukon-snowpack-breaks-records-early
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More wet weather is looming for the Sunshine State, with the possibility of a substantial rainfall event heading for the Queensland coast later this week.
Computer models show an area of low pressure in the upper levels of the atmosphere, which is likely to deepen over the weekend off the coast.
While the risk of it becoming a cyclone is low, there is a chance it could become an east coast low with problematic damaging winds and very heavy rainfall.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/queensland-weather-substantial-rainfall-event-looms-for-coast/2540b218-56b0-4a9f-95d0-3bd69eb21978
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Australia just had one of its wettest and warmest Marches on record as the country experienced a climate juxtaposition of persistent late season heat alongside widespread outback rainfall.
The national area-averaged rainfall in March 2024 was 86% above the 1961-1990 average, making it Australia’s third wettest March in 125 years of records.
But while the national anomaly was abnormally wet, it was also a remarkably dry month in some parts of the country.
Huge amounts of rain fell over Australia's vast central and western Interior last month as tropical moisture was drawn south by slow-moving low pressure troughs. Parts of WA and the NT saw their heaviest March rain on record, while both states ended up having one of their top 4 wettest Marches in recorded history.
This prolific outback rain, which flooded Australia’s largest sheep station, was a stark contrast to the abundantly sunny skies seen in the southeast of Australia last month.
Rainfall was well below average over parts of Vic, Tas, SA, eastern NSW and the southwest of WA in March. Some places in Vic even had their driest March on record, including Melbourne.
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/australias-third-wettest-march-on-record/1889269
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https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/tassie-snow-melbourne-temps-go-low/1889341
Snow has fallen in Tasmania, while Melbourne has experienced a dramatic temperature drop as a cold front whipped through Tasmania and southern Victoria overnight.
This was the Wednesday morning scene on the slopes of Ben Lomond, Tasmania's only commercial ski resort, about an hour out of Launceston. Not enough snow for skiing, but the cafe was open for anyone venturing up there to throw a snowball.
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Parched areas of southwest WA have finally seen some rain this week, with Wandering recording its highest May rainfall in more than 82 years and the most rainfall the town has seen in 13 months.
The rain event began on Wednesday, with Bunbury recording a 2-day total of 55 mm to 9am on Friday, May 3, which is the most rain the town has seen since August 2023 and a 3 year high for May. Cowaramup also saw their largest rainfall totals in two and a half years, with 60 mm recorded during the 24 hours to 9am on Thursday, May 2.
The rainfall intensified on Thursday as severe thunderstorms and a cold front swept across the region, with some towns recording more than 100 mm of rain in a day in the southwest of the state.
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/heaviest-may-rainfall-in-82-years-recorded-in-wa-town/1889376
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Australia's "warmest winter on record" is being preluded by a polar outbreak across the nation's south-east.
As per the Bureau of Meteorology, temperatures will hold above average across Australia this May to July, which could result in the warmest winter ever recorded (by the Bureau’s own inaccurate and heat-skewed network of weather stations).
This week's Antarctic cold hit Tasmania the hardest, where temperatures dipped below the freezing mark in several regions.
Mt Wellington, above Hobart, hit -1.8C (28.8F). While up north, the coastal city of Devonport shivered through its coldest temperature this early into the year for more than two decades, since 2003, with a low of 3.8C (38.8F).
It looks a mixed bag for the Aussie continent as May progresses. Though the cold anomalies could win-out by the third week (to be taken with a pinch of salt this far out):
https://electroverse.substack.com/p/australia-shivers-spring-snow-continues
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Australia can be the hottest place in the world at the height of summer, but in April 2024 the country was an island of abnormally cold weather amid a sea of record-breaking global heat.
Data released this week by Berkeley Earth shows that Earth’s global average air temperature in April 2024 was 1.67 ± 0.11°C above the 1850 to 1900 average. This was the highest April average temperature on record, beating the previous record from 2020 by 0.14°C.
Last month continued a prolonged run of record-breaking global heat that has been going on uninterrupted since June 2023, with April becoming the 11th consecutive month to set a new monthly global average temperature record.
Against this backdrop of unrivalled global warmth, it was surprising to see Australia register its first cooler-than-average April in nine years
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/australias-coldest-april-since-2015-during-earths-warmest-april-on-record/1889427
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Many parts of South Australia have posted their coldest May mornings on record this week.
Wednesday was the chilliest day so far...
Kadina dipped to -0.8C/30.6F (breaking it’s previous May low of 0.1C set in 2021); Robe saw -2C/28.4F (beating its old record of -1.3C from 2006); Roseworthy to -1.4C/29.5F (breaking its low of -0.4c set during the May of 1967); Cummins shivered through -1.6C/29.1F (smashing it’s previous low of 0.8C set in 2023); and Wudinna posted -1.5C/29.3F (besting the -1.2C set May 21, 2022).
Additional record monthly lows include the 0.3C/32.5F at Edinburgh (which broke the old 1985 record in books dating back to 1972), and the -2.6C/27.3F at Nuriootpa (which is 0.5C below the previous record dating back to 1996).
The state government activated a 'Code Blue' extreme weather warning in response to the freeze, covering the likes of Far West Coast, Copper Coast, Clare Valley, Riverland, Murraylands, Upper Spencer Gulf, Kangaroo Island, and Limestone Coast.
Minister for Human Services, Nat Cook, said: "These Code Blue responses help people experiencing homelessness who are most affected by extreme winter weather to remain warm and safe. I encourage rough sleepers, or anyone who knows a rough sleeper, to call Homeless Connect SA -- these services are here to help."
https://electroverse.substack.com/p/record-may-cold-hits-south-australia
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Millions are facing a wet, windy weekend as a cloudband stretching thousands of kilometres moves over eastern Australia.
The cloudband already delivered more than 100mm of rain to parts of south-eastern Australia on Thursday and into Friday morning, Weatherzone said.
"This enormous stream of tropical moisture and two low pressure systems will now cause rain and storms over a broad area of eastern and southeastern Australia from Friday into the weekend."
READ MORE: Fewer Aussies getting the flu shot, amid fears of GP fallout
A major cloudband stretching thousands of kilometres will bring rain and windy conditions to multiple states. (Weatherzone)
Wind and rain are forecast to ease in Tasmania today, but wet and blustery conditions will persist in parts of New South Wales and Queensland.
A low pressure system is still forecast to develop off the NSW coast today and deepen on Sunday, Weatherzone said.
However, the earlier indications it would develop into a powerful east coast low are unlikely to bear fruit.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/wet-weather-rain-storms-forecast-south-east-australia/2bb79e89-731d-4302-b3e7-d0bf10a4933a
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Parts of Australia have been shivering in recent weeks, some set records in May.
According to the books and as reported by wangarattachronicle.com.au, the city of Wangaratta, Victoria endured its coldest May mornings in at least 70 years.
Last month, Wangaratta posted a total of seven days with minimums below -3C (26.6F). This made for a new record in books dating back to the 1950s, comfortably breaking the old benchmark of five days below -3C set during the May of 2006.
The city also registered its coldest-ever May low: the -4.1C (24.6F) on May 19.
May's anomalies are continuing into June for many.
The new week looks chilly, with additional record lows on the cards for some:
https://electroverse.substack.com/p/coldest-may-lows-in-70-years-hit
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Eastern Australia's unusual chill has busted a 32-year record in Queensland and also blanketed a 640 km (400 mile) stretch of the state in frost, reports couriermail.com.au.
On Sunday, Brisbane Airport recorded 2.6C (36.7F), the coldest June temperature since 1992. The Scenic Rim and Darling Downs regions saw temperatures plunge to -5C (23F) and beyond, setting new monthly record lows for June.
The frost extended over 640km, reaching as far north as Mackay and covering the Darling Downs, Burnett, and Wide Bay regions. Such extensive frost coverage is highly unusual for Queensland, with its northern reaches enjoying a tropical climate.
Meteorologists are attributing this ongoing 'cold snap' to clear skies, dry air, and light winds, which allowed temperatures to drop significantly overnight. The cold air mass settled over the region, creating ideal conditions for frost formation.
Queensland residents have donned winter clothing typically reserved for southern parts of the country, continues the Courier Mail article, while farmers are working hard to protect crops from frost damage.
Temperatures have also struggled across Victoria and South Australia, with locales experiencing their coldest June days in decades, according to Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) data.
BoM senior forecaster Angus Hines said the frigid temps were showing no signs of letting up, in what was proving to be an unusually persistent chill.
"It's quite a long time, actually," he said. "We've had a chilly weekend, but the weather pattern is going to keep feeding in those chilly conditions through most of the rest of this week."
Tuesday and Wednesday are expected to be the worst, according to Hines, with widespread areas of morning frost forecast for Tasmania, Victoria, New South Wales, and the ACT.
Record Cold British Columbia
https://electroverse.substack.com/p/queensland-freeze-breaks-32-year
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Sydney has shivered through a lunchtime forecasters say was officially the coldest of a capital city in the nation.
Sydney recorded a temperature of just 10.9 degrees at noon today, according to Weatherzone.
Parts of Sydney felt like a much lower 7.2, as showers hit the NSW coast.
READ MORE: Woman, 31, held at knifepoint after police chase in NSW
Rainfall
Sydney is experiencing wet weather which is forecast for the rest of the weekend. (Sydney Morning Herald)
Rainfall
Sydney was officially the coldest capital city in Australia at 12 pm today as the Sydney basin was slammed by winter rain. (Weatherzone)
Melbourne clocked in at just shy of 13 degrees around lunchtime, Brisbane at 16 degrees, and Adelaide at 14.
Perth's noon temperature hit 17.7 degrees but felt closer to 13.
Tropical Darwin was a balmy 27.3 degrees.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/australia-weather-nsw-victoria-queensland-one-city-crowned-the-coldest-capital-over-lunchtime/2d9eca3e-c23b-4a54-9164-bd259c57b484
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Eastern Australia's cold spell is now proving historic, with long-standing benchmarks continuing to fall.
Focusing on Aussie tropics, i.e. Queensland, Thursday morning saw Palmerville (located at 16°S!) reach 0.5C (32.9F), smashing the July record of 1.7C that had stood since 1899.
Kowanyama posted 4.9C (40.8F), which was a full 1C below the July record set in 1984.
While the 6C (42.8F) daily high observed at Applethorpe made for the lowest max anywhere in the state since 2015.
The remarkable chill has rolled-over into Friday and all.
Charters Towers posting 0.1C (32.2F), which breaks the all-time record also set in 1899, and by 1C and all.
Weipa touched 9.9C (49.8F), which is 0.5C below the July record that had stood since 1959.
Scherger, at 10.8C (51.4F), is 0.9C below its all-time benchmark set June 2011.
While Point Fawcett's 9.7C (49.5F), pips the July 2023 record by 0.1C.
—This list is far from exhaustive, but you get the idea.
Eyeing ahead there's even more to come and all, specifically for NSW, where the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) has just issued a weather warning:
"Damaging winds are expected this afternoon as a strong cold front moves through. Vigorous winds are predicted for the southern ranges, central tablelands, and Illawarra coast, with blizzard conditions likely in the Alpine region."
https://electroverse.substack.com/p/cold-records-from-1899-fall-in-queensland
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The wintry blast sweeping eastern Australia is setting records for cold and electricity demand alike, affecting multiple states and prompting energy authorities to prepare for outages.
On Monday, Victoria broke a 17-year record for maximum winter electricity demand, reaching 8,612 MW at 6PM, surpassing the previous record set in July 2007 by more than 250 MW.
This demand spike is expected to be challenged again, as temperatures across much of the state remain well-below average with further snows expect from Tasmania through Victoria and New South Wales.
Headed north, Queensland has also set a new record for maximum winter electricity demand, reaching 8,728 MW, up 12 MW from the previous record set on July 4, 2022. At the time of the peak demand, Queensland's generation mix consisted of 65.1% black coal, 25.9% gas, 4.2% hydro, 2.5% wind, 0.7% batteries, and 1.6% imported.
With winter only halfway over and lengthy periods of anomalous cold forecast to continue buffeting Australia, AEMO has warned that "deliverability risks" could persist until the end of August. Energy authorities say they are working to ensure that households can maintain heating while managing industrial gas supplies.
The cold has persisted this week, intensified even.
Most-recently, Queensland has broken a slew of cold weather records, so reports cairnspost.com.au, in what they have called a "brutal" polar blast. On Thursday, Far North Queensland notched its lowest temperatures in 116 years, with Cape York taking the biscuit. The state has even seen rare snow, which is reported to have fallen at three separate regions in Southern Queensland.
https://electroverse.substack.com/p/eastern-australia-breaks-electricity
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A massive snowstorm Friday night continued into Saturday, blanketing Aussie alpine regions.
Despite 'The Science' foretelling of a future without snow, this weekend brought a spectacular "Christmas in July" for ski resorts across the southeast, with more 50cm (20 inches) accumulating in popular tourist destinations.
Angus Hines of the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) described it as a “very wintry outbreak”.
Mt Buller received 22cm (8.7 inches) of snow on Saturday morning, with an additional 15cm (5.9 inches) accumulating throughout the day, and yet more on the way. "It’s been brilliant, it started snowing on Friday night and hasn’t stopped," said the resorts marketing manager David Clark. "The best conditions we’ve seen so far."
While cold enough to snow, it was a slow start in June, "but it’s such a relief to have these big snowfalls and proper cold fronts coming through, setting us up for the rest of the season," Clark added. "We’re guaranteed to have snow now through October."
Mount Hotham saw 31cm (12.2 inches) in 24 hours to Saturday morning, reaching full capacity and closing to day visitors. Thredbo, further north, posted 27cm (10.6 inches) overnight, bringing its seven-day total to 43cm (16.9 inches).
"The entire mountain and village are covered in a thick blanket of fresh white snow, creating magical wintry scenes," a spokesperson said. “Experts forecast this low-pressure system could bring another 50cm (19.7 inches) over the next 10 days."
Falls Creek in north-east Victoria received 45cm (17.7 inches) of snow in just 24 hours. Its seven-day total has now exceeded 70cm (27.6 inches).
Perisher was hit hard and all, with freezing temperatures were recorded as low as 800m (2,625 feet).
https://electroverse.substack.com/p/the-snow-piles-up-down-under-cold
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An unusual and long-lasting cold spell across Australia's southeast has led to record demand in the national electricity market (NEM).
Throughout April, May, and June, the persistently low temperatures, particularly in Victoria, drove a significant increase in morning peak electricity demand, according to the latest figures from the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO).
Decreased wind in the southern states has also reduced the power output from turbines, marking the lowest quarter of wind power output since 2017 (despite additional capacity).
The combo of low temps and no wind has caused the wholesale spot price for electricity to surge by 23% compared to the same period last year. Gas-fired power generation had to step in to fill the gap, increasing by 16% from the previous year, which, in turn, has seen gas prices reach almost $30 per gigajoule, levels reminiscent of the energy crisis of two years ago.
More importantly, this has also pushed gas infrastructure to breaking point, with AEMO highlighting immediate risks to supplies. The operator warns that peak demand days over next three months (or more) risk rapidly depleting gas storage levels.
Rick Wilkinson, chief executive of consultancy EnergyQuest, asserts that the shortfalls were predictable and are a direct result of declining investment in new gas supplies. He emphasized the increasing vulnerability of Australia to supply shortfalls due to a lack of investment and years of politicized hostility toward the gas industry.
Predictably, AEMO's CEO Daniel Westerman continues to champion renewables as the solution to Australia's national electricity market woes, stating: "The role of batteries in supporting morning and evening demand peaks has become more prominent."
While this is true, it results from flawed and damaging policy decisions rather than sound reasoning. It's like saying the role of bandages has become more prominent because we keep shooting ourselves in the foot.
https://electroverse.substack.com/p/texas-cold-front-breaks-daily-records
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Australia's already very cold winter is intensifying, with temperatures set to plunge further this week.
Brisbane, known for its reliably sunny spells, shivered through its coldest morning in a decade Monday, with more to come.
The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) reported that south and south-eastern Queensland faced some of their lowest temperatures in years. Brisbane hit an overnight low of 2.7C (36.9F), while the Sunshine Coast saw a 17-year July low of 1.6C (34.9F).
Dalby was the coldest place in the sunshine state on Monday morning, with a record low of -4C (24.8F).
Sky News Weather Meteorologist Rob Sharpe: "We’ve already seen this widespread frost from South Australia to Tasmania to Queensland," he said Monday morning.
Canberra, the nation's capital, endured an overnight minimum of -5.6C (21.9F).
Alice Springs posted -1.1C (30.0F).
The cold will linger for many, including the central and tropical regions of Queensland — it will actually be colder come Tuesday and Wednesday with sub-zero minimums expected to deliver a slew of additional record lows.
https://electroverse.substack.com/p/australias-winter-continues-to-defy
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Large parts of Western Australia and South Australia can expect a prolonged run of wet weather from late today.
Rainfalls of 15mm to 30mm are forecast for the next five days across the Pilbara, parts of the Kimberley, the WA interior and central SA.
Forecasters say Isolated totals of 30mm to 60mm can be expected in some parts.
READ MORE: Bodyboarder dies after being pulled from water at Sydney surf park
The wet weather system over the Pilbara region of WA tomorrow night, which will slowly progress further east into central Australia on the weekend. (Weatherzone)
The heaviest rain is likely in the Pilbara and Kimberley region later today and into tomorrow as an upper-level trough moves over the region.
The wet weather will slowly progress further east into central Australia on the weekend.
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a strong wind warning today for the following coastal areas of WA: Geraldton, Perth, Bunbury, Leeuwin, Albany, Esperance and Eucla.
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After parts of southwest Australia endured severe storms and ferocious winds last week, Perth has completed a hat-trick after experiencing its second-warmest July in records going back to 1944.
The Perth airport site had an average overall temperature of 14.5ºC during July, a whopping 1.4ºC higher than the 80-year average. Maximum temperature themselves were the fifth highest on record (19.4ºC) and were the warmest on average since 2020 (19.5ºC). Other locations in the region told a similar story:
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/perths-second-warmest-july-on-record/1889716
Bunbury had its third-warmest July since records began in 1996 (13.5ºC average temperature) and second-warmest average maximum temperature (18.1ºC).
Albany had its warmest July since records began in 2012 (13.0ºC average temperature).
Merredin, between Perth and Kalgoorlie, had its third-warmest July since records began in 1966 (12.5ºC average temperature).
preth_temp
Figure: Mean temperature anomaly of July 2024 compared to the 1961-1990 baseline temperatures (Bureau of Meteorology).
As seen from the mean temperature anomaly map, the majority of Western Australia was 2-3ºC above the 1961-1990 average.
With winter being the wettest season across much of southwest Western Australia, it makes sense that moisture levels were elevated across the region. The figure below shows that the specific humidity anomalies were especially high for WA's Central Wheatbelt and surrounds. High humidity means dewpoints were elevated, hence the much warmer temperatures throughout July.
preth_hum
Figure: Near-surface specific humidity anomalies of July 2024 compared to the 1961-1990 baseline (NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory).
This moisture came with the consequence of rainfall over the southwest, which we saw most recently in the final hours of July.
Geraldton had its highest July rainfall in 12 years of records (157mm, average of 66.3mm)
Bunbury had its wettest July since 2000 (232.0mm, average of 146.3mm)
Whilst August has started off close to average so far across the southwest in terms of temperatures, there are indications of increased warmth next weekend ahead of a potentially significant cold front.
Perth's second warmest July on record
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Despite it still being winter, some parts of Australia have recorded temperatures just shy of 40 degrees, while others are in for a cool change in coming days.
Oodnadatta in South Australia clocked a scorching 39.3 degrees, while in Western Australia, Wyndham in the northern Kimberly got up to 38.7 degrees.
The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) said unseasonal warmth is impacting central and eastern Australia this weekend and may continue into next week for some parts of the country.
READ MORE: Two astronauts are stuck in space. Here's what will happen to their bodies
Scorching winter temperatures
Parts of Australia have recorded temperatures just shy of 40 degrees, while some parts of the country are in for a cool change in coming days. (Bureau of Meteorology)
Queensland almost broke its August record with temperatures well above average in the interior and south east, with near-record August warmth in the southwest.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/weather-australia-temperatures-nudge-39-degrees-ahead-of-cool-change/dbcda8e1-fdf5-4406-9e5f-249300e12374
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For the second time in two days, South Australia has obliterated its highest temperature ever recorded in winter, with a maximum of 39.4°C recorded at Oodnadatta on Saturday afternoon.
On Friday, South Australia recorded its hottest winter temperature on record, also at Oodnadatta, when the mercury hit 38.5°C. That beat the old record by a whopping two degrees.
These sorts of records are usually exceeded in small increments, so a two-degree jump on the old mark was extraordinary.
To exceed the new record by almost another full degree the next day is nothing short of remarkable.
Image: Welcome to temperatures no one has ever measured in winter before. Source: iStock.
And Oodnadatta was not alone in setting records. Two other locations included:
The town of Marree recorded 37.3°C, which was a winter record too. Before this week, its highest recorded winter temp was 34.9°C.
Roxby Downs reached 36.1°C on Saturday, another winter record. Before this week, its highest recorded winter temperature was 34.6°C.
The unusually hot August airmass over Central Australia and northern SA has been caused by a stream of northwesterly winds flowing between a low pressure system centred over the Great Australian Bight and a high pressure system sitting over Queensland.
The heat will start to moderate on Sunday, and while Oodnadatta's likely maximum of 32°C will still be something 10 degrees above the long-term average August max of 22.3°C, it won't be in record-setting territory.
Located in the northern part of SA's North East Pastoral forecast district, Oodnadatta jointly holds the record (with Onslow in WA) of the hottest temp ever recorded in Australia in any season (50.7°C). Around 100 hardy souls call the town home.
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/south-australia-smashes-winter-heat-record-again/1889787
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Cap Allon
Aug 30, 2024
∙ Paid
Thousands Without Power In Tasmania As Cold And Snow Intensify
Thousands of homes across Tasmania remain without power, with freezing temperatures and heavy snowfall set to worsen through the weekend.
The BOM says a significant polar front will approach Friday, with two further fronts bringing more of the same Saturday and Sunday. Thermometers have already crashed well-below freezing for many, with the city of Hobart 'feeling like' -14.6C (5.7F).
As of Friday afternoon, over 3,500 properties were still without electricity, primarily in the northern and northwestern regions. At its peak overnight, more than 9,000 properties were affected. Areas like Wynyard, Woolnorth, and Ulverstone have been particularly hard hit, with snow-covered trees falling onto power lines.
TasNetworks has urged residents to prepare for prolonged outages, emphasizing that the extreme cold and snow are making access difficult for repair crews. "We are asking our customers to prepare for long delays as our crews work tirelessly to restore power," a spokesperson said.
Following multiple road incidents, motorists have been advised remain cautious.
Among the disruptions there are also plenty of picturesque scenes. Mount Wellington, for example, has been transformed into a winter wonderland, blanketed in snow since Wednesday. Likewise at Ben Lomand, the ski season typically ends in August here, but this week's heavy late-season powder has led to unexpected extension.
https://electroverse.substack.com/p/thousands-without-power-in-tasmania
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Greater Sydney and the Illawarra are on high alert for fires today with temperatures set to soar into the 30s.
Both regions have been issued a high fire danger rating for today.
In Sydney, the temperature is forecast to rise to 17 degrees at 7am, and 24 degrees by 10am.
READ MORE: Perth's fight against destructive beetles the size of sesame seeds
Temperatures above 30 degrees are expected across Greater Sydney today. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)
But the 30-degree mark will come at about 1pm, and the heat is set to stick around well into the afternoon.
Even by 4pm, it's expected the temperature will only drop to 29 degrees.
The heat will be felt right across the greater metropolitan region, including Penrith, Hornsby, Campbelltown, and the CBD.
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https://www.9news.com.au/national/sydney-weather-warning-strong-heat-fire-danger-updates/3b6054e0-b72f-4d56-8b31-d6a3f8046a19
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Tasmania
The coldest weather this weekend will occur in Tasmania, where it should get cold enough for snow to reach around 200 m above sea level on Saturday. These freezing temperatures combined with squally winds and snow will make it unsafe for outdoor activates such as hiking and bushwalking, particularly over the state’s Western and Central Plateau on Saturday, where wind chill will make temperatures feel lower than -10°C at times.
Hobart is only forecast to reach 11°C on Saturday and 13°C on Sunday, although most of Saturday will feel colder than 3°C amid blustery winds and showers. While Sunday will be drier and a bit warmer in Hobart, the city’s temperature should still feel lower than 6°C for most of the day.
Rain, hail and snow will all fall in Tas this weekend, with the heaviest accumulations occurring in the state’s west and south. There could also be a few thunderstorms.
Cold snap to hit five states this weekend
Cold snap to hit five states this weekend
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/cold-snap-to-hit-five-states-this-weekend/1889887
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Canberra experienced a historic cold snap early Monday morning, with temperatures plummeting to -6.9C (19.6F) — the coldest temperature ever recorded in any spring month since record books began back in 1923, besting the previous seasonal low of -6.8C (19.8F) from Sept 2012.
This unseasonable freeze was the result of a brutal Antarctic air mass that engulfed southeastern Australia. The cold front brought showers to Canberra and late-season snow to the alpine areas of New South Wales, Tasmania, Victoria, and also the ACT.
Even some towns on the outskirts of the mountains experienced snowfalls.
While Thredbo's gondola was covered in fresh snow just days after closing for the season:
https://electroverse.substack.com/p/canberras-coldest-spring-morning
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Australia shivered through one of its coldest September mornings ever on Tuesday, with record lows posted across Queensland and South Australia.
Adelaide has faced its coldest September morning in more than a century, with temperatures dipping as low as -0.2C (31.6F) in the northern suburbs and 1.3C (34.3F) in the city itself. Noarlunga, in the southern suburbs, posted a rare low of 3.5C (38.3F).
BOM senior forecaster Simon Timcke noted that it was the lowest September minimum temperature ever recorded at the West Terrace site, where the books date back over a century.
Queensland towns have also seen their coldest September mornings in years. Kingaroy, for example, hit 0.7C (33.3F), while Roma recorded a brisk 1.4C (34.5F)—about eight degrees below the average spring temp. Oakey registered even colder, at -2.5C (27.5F). The frosty conditions stretched along much of the Murray River.
Other South Australian locales also experienced the unseasonable September chill. Cleve, on the Eyre Peninsula, shivered through -0.4C (31.3F), the coldest temperature in its 67 years of record-keeping, and, notably, the first freezing temp ever recorded there.
Loxton, in the Riverland district, saw -1.9C (28.6F), its coldest spring night in 29 years. Edithburg, on the Yorke Peninsula, logged 0.1C (32.2F), its lowest spring temperature ever recorded—an exceptionally low reading for a coastal location.
https://electroverse.substack.com/p/adelaides-coldest-september-temperature
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Tom Saunders
abc.net.au
Fri, 27 Sep 2024 17:09 UTC
According to the current forecasts,
© Anthony Adams
According to the current forecasts, Australia is on track to record its fifth-consecutive year of above-average rainfall.
Australia has experienced its wettest January-August since 2011, laying the platform for 2024 to become our fifth consecutive year with above-average rain — and potentially among the dampest ever.
While September is on average our driest month, the current spell of wet weather will continue this weekend as twin cloud bands deliver further rain to southern states.
Heavy falls and flooding are possible on the NSW north coast, the crescendo of an unseasonable north-west cloudband that brought rain to the majority of the country this week, including record falls in parts of WA and the NT.
Thankfully, the AFL Grand Final appears set to be played in good conditions — after a sunny and warm day today in Melbourne, a second rainband will arrive across south-eastern states by Sunday, while a third band of rain is possible next week.
Flood risk for NSW north coast
After a reliably dry start to the month, the past seven days brought a widespread soaking to Australia, culminating in heavy falls on the NSW northern coast during Friday.
In the 24 hours to 9am, Comboyne, near Port Macquarie, was drenched by 124 millimetres, the town's heaviest September fall in 16 years.
The heaviest rain then shifted to the Northern Rivers through Friday as a low-pressure system formed about 200 kilometres offshore from Evans Head.
The Tasman low is predicted by modelling to make a close swipe of the coast today, potentially bringing widespread falls near 100mm from the Gold Coast to Kempsey.
Heavy rain and flooding are possible this weekend near the Queensland and NSW border from a low pressure system just off the coast.
https://www.sott.net/article/495122-Australia-on-track-for-fifth-consecutive-wet-year-as-weekend-brings-further-rain-to-southern-states-and-flood-threat-to-NSW-coast
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Australia has recorded its second-warmest October since national records began 114 years ago.
Bureau of Meteorology data of average of daily maximums and minimum temperatures, collected from hundreds of weather stations, revealed last month was 2.51 degrees above average, reports Weatherzone.
Reflecting the impact of climate change, October was the ninth month from 10 this year for temperatures across Australia significantly above average.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/australia-weather-october-2024-second-warmest-since-records-began/b6a16cb1-8cce-4fdf-8def-dccd530a7ff4
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By April Glover
9News Staff
Warning of more severe storms and increased fire risk ahead for Queensland
1 / 4><
Three air systems colliding sparked lightning and torrential rain over south-east Queensland yesterday, but the region will continue to see lashing as a wet system moves over Australia.
Severe thunderstorms built out west yesterday, before travelling east and smashing the city.
More than 50 millimetres of rain was felt over parts during peak hour while lightning hit areas like Teneriffe, Regents Park and Boonah.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/weather-forecast-australia-thunderstorms-rain-wind-and-hail-queensland-western-australia-new-south-wales/4777e39c-1f54-4826-8a3b-a52c53a72e4f
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Savannah Meacham and Fraser Barton
Goulburn Post
Thu, 21 Nov 2024 14:24 UTC
Heavy rain in Charleville has caused some flooding but the worst of the weather seems over.
© Murweh Shire Council
Heavy rain in Charleville has caused some flooding
A regional Queensland town has been hit by flooding from severe thunderstorms with the state bracing for more wet weather.
The storms struck on Wednesday night with some areas reporting rainfall totals of close to 100mm in just an hour.
Lesdale, 700km west of Brisbane, had 92mm while nearby Charleville was soaked by 68mm.
A minor flood warning was issued for the Warrego River at Charleville after the sudden downpour.
Murweh Shire Mayor Shaun Radnedge said despite the heavy rain the levy bank and gully diversion were moving water to where it was supposed to be.
https://youtu.be/fZ518EJXUho
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The pre-summer heatwave will come to an end across South Australia and most of Victoria this weekend, as the trough responsible for bringing in the heat is set to move across the region, bringing cooling showers and a southwesterly wind change.
The relief from this early season heat will certainly be a welcome change for SA on Saturday, with most of the state recording maximum temperatures more than 10 degrees above average on Friday. The biggest departure from average came from Mt Gambier, soaring to 37.7°C, more than 17°C above the November average. Meanwhile Adelaide sweltered at 37.5°C, more than 13°C above average. For both these locations, as well as many more across SA, it was the hottest day since March.
Gif: Infrared satellite image overnight for SA.
The trough has already increased cloud cover across the state overnight ahead of impending showers and the odd storm, however this cloud subjected the state to an uncomfortable night. The minimum temperatures to 7am CDT hovered in the low to mid 20s across central and southern SA, with Adelaide’s overnight minimum staying at 24.6°C.
That’s not to say it won’t cool down further during the day, with showers and isolated storms, accompanied by a southwesterly wind change and a much cooler airmass, set to sweep across southern and central parts of the state on Saturday. Rainfall totals are only expected to reach 15-30mm but will be widespread, allowing daytime relief while putting a slight dampener on weekend plans. Once the southwesterly winds pick up, temperatures will drop back towards the high teens to low twenties, still a warm night, but much easier to sleep through.
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/from-sweltering-to-soggy-for-southeast-australia/1890116
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Millions of Australians are facing another scorching weekend, with heatwave warnings in place across multiple states.
Temperatures in western Sydney are expected to rise into the mid-30s, with the humidity to make it feel even hotter.
Hundreds are expected to flock to the newly re-opened "Pondi" of Penrith Beach today.
READ MORE: Tributes for Perth father killed in wall collapse
A heatwave will linger over multiple states this weekend. (9News)
Despite the heat, Sydney is also facing summer rain and a possible storm today, though severe weather warnings issued earlier have been cancelled.
Conditions are expected to ease tomorrow, with temperatures dropping back into the high 20s and an ongoing chance of rain.
However, the heatwave will persist in the state's north until Monday.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/heatwave-warnings-multiple-states-millions-face-scorching-conditions/168640e7-7a7d-4df2-8609-03b208eb2419
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Western Australia is bracing for a brutal heatwave for at least five days, with temperatures soaring into the 40s and heightened fire risks affecting much of the state.
The prolonged period of heat will be generated by a stubborn high-pressure system and ridge over the Bight, which will direct hot northeasterly winds from Australia’s hot interior all the way to the west coast.
Images: Mean Sea Level Pressure charts (MSLP) showing a stubborn high pressure system and ridge remaining in the Bight for at least 5 days.
Maximum temperatures will reach the low to mid 40s for several days in the Pilbara and Gascoyne regions prompting a severe to extreme heatwave warning to be issued for the three days beginning on Friday, December 6.
Image: Heatwave severity forecast for WA for three days beginning on Friday, December 6. Source: Bureau of Meteorology
The heatwave conditions over the next six days will also bring high to extreme fire danger across much of the state. Fortunately, the large out-of-control fire that recently impactrd coastal communities to the north of Perth has been extinguished, however the communities of WA should remain alert.
While each day in the next week will be hot for WA, the hottest days are forecast to be this Sunday and Wednesday and Thursday next week.
You can see by mid next week the heat spreads to the south and west, impacting the Central and Lower West regions, including Perth.
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/wa-faces-extreme-heatwave-and-fire-danger/1890178
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By Allanah Sciberras
People living in central and southeastern parts of the country have been warned to brace for intense heat this weekend.
Victorians, in particular, will feel the heat, with temperatures expected to hit up to 45 in some areas – the first time in four years.
The extreme temperatures will bring severe heatwave conditions to both Victoria and South Australia.
Victoria's first 45°C in four years could happen on Monday. (Weatherzone)
Severe heatwave conditions are currently peaking over southwestern Western Australia, including the Perth Metropolitan Area, and are expected to gradually move eastward later in the week, reaching South Australia and Victoria by the weekend.
"This weekend will see temperatures approaching five to 10 degrees above average throughout much of South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania and New South Wales," Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Miriam Bradbury said.
"Monday will be the hottest day with temperatures up to 16 degrees above average."
https://www.9news.com.au/national/australian-weather-news-intense-burst-of-heat-to-hit-victoria-with-temperatures-up-to-45-degrees-expected/334a1326-5d6b-448d-8d49-3bc0c06cbdb
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Extreme heatwave and fire conditions are forecast across large areas of WA, with daytime temperatures reaching the mid-40s and potential new December minimum temperature record for Perth.
The relentless heat will be caused by a stubborn high pressure system in the Bight, with prevailing easterly winds dragging an extremely hot airmass over northern WA, which will then extend down the west coast on the weekend.
Image: 850hPa temperature and wind showing an extremely hot airmass sitting over much of WA at 8pm AWST on Saturday, December 21, according to ECMWF
This set up is causing severe to extreme heatwave conditions across the north and northwest of the state which will filter down the west coast on the weekend.
The hot, dry and gusty easterly winds will also cause extreme fire danger across the Central and Lower West, the Great Southern and Central Wheat Belt districts on Sunday and Monday, when the heat peaks.
Image: Heatwave severity for three days beginning on Friday, December 20. Source: Bureau of Meteorology
Maximum temperatures will soar into the mid to high 40s in the state’s north, before impacting the west coast on the weekend into early next week. The heatwave will peak on Sunday and Monday, before a cooler change arrives in the southwest of WA on Tuesday just before Christmas.
Minimum temperatures will also remain in the mid to high 20s overnight across northern WA and the west coast, with Western Australians likely running their air conditioners overnight. This usage throughout the next four days will cause energy demand to spike in the state, putting pressure on the South West Interconnected System (SWIS) and North West Interconnected System (NWIS).
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/extreme-heatwave-hits-wa-could-set-perths-warmest-december-night-on-record/1890223
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Life-threatening floods are possible in parts of North Queensland tonight as a wet weather emergency forces highways and airports to shut.
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe weather warning for Herbert and Lower Burdekin, Central Coast and Whitsundays districts as heavy and locally-intense rainfall is forecast to continue today and tomorrow morning.
With six-hourly rainfall totals reaching 320mm, the showers are feared to lead to "dangerous and life-threatening flash flooding".
https://www.9news.com.au/national/north-queensland-weather-life-threatening-floods-possible/8606b68c-1fc8-4ab7-8677-17cc937e19c5
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By 9News Staff
9:51am Jan 4, 2025
South-east Queensland has just lived through one of the wettest years in more than a century.
New figures have revealed that 2024 delivered Brisbane its highest number of rainy days in 134 years.
And the weather is following Queensland into the new year, as parts of the state are being warned to brace for more intense falls this weekend.
New figures have revealed that 2024 delivered Brisbane its highest number of rainy days in 134 years. (Fairfax Media/Catherine Strohfeldt )
In north Queensland heavy falls overnight led to flooding as heaving humidity gave way to a deluge, partially submerging a wakeboard park in Mackay.
The clean-up started early this morning but it's become an all too familiar routine for the business.
"Only two weeks ago it went under as well," Ben Mihan told 9News.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/queensland-weather-flooding-north-brisbane-2024-wettest-year-in-more-than-a-century/fccb88fc-1eed-4c0c-bf92-ce948f7376c6
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Australia’s annual mean temperature was close to 1.5°C above average in 2024, making it the country’s second warmest year on record.
Data released this week by the Bureau of Meteorology has revealed that Australia’s national mean temperature in 2024 was 1.46°C above the 1961-1990 average. This is only the second time in 115 years of records that Australia’s annual temperature has been more than 1.4°C above this 30-year baseline. The only warmer year was 2019 – Australia's warmest and driest year on record – which had a mean annual temperature anomaly of +1.51°C.
Image: Australia’s annual mean temperature anomalies between 1910 and 2024. Source: Bureau of Meteorology
What makes 2024 exceptional is that, unlike 2019, there was quite a lot of rain in Australia, with 2024 ranking as the country’s wettest year since 2011 and its 8th wettest year in records dating back to 1900.
Historically, Australia’s warmest years have coincided with periods of low rainfall and drought. While some parts of southern and western Australia did see lacklustre rainfall in 2024, most of the country was abnormally wet. The map below shows the annual rainfall deciles in 2024. The blue areas had a wetter-than-average year, and the red areas were drier than usual.
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/australia-registers-2nd-warmest-year-on-
record/1890245
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A scorching week across huge parts of Western Australia has continued this Friday, although residents of Perth are enjoying some relief.
After a run of days with maximums of 37.9°C, 43.6°C, 38.3°C, 38.4°C and 39.7°C, Perth peaked at 32.1°C just before midday (AWST) on Friday. That looks likely to be the official maximum as the afternoon wears on with the sea breeze in full swing.
But it has been a different story inland, and also on much of the state’s southern coastline, where winds from the interior were still creating a furnace effect in the early afternoon.
Albany, known for being one of WA's coolest spots, reached 42.7°C right on midday on Friday before a cooling breeze finally kicked in a little later on in the afternoon.
Hopetoun, a coastal town a few hours east not far from Esperance, reached a tar-melting 45.7°C just after 2pm.
Leonora, a couple of hours north of Kalgoorlie in the Goldfields forecast district, reached 47.2°C just before 2pm.
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/breezy-relief-for-perth-as-wa-melts/1890308
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A dangerous combination of hot and windy conditions has South Australian authorities on high alert this long weekend.
Temperatures are expected to soar tomorrow as thousands of spectators descend on Adelaide for the final stage of the Tour Down Under.
The city circuit will take place during the hottest part of the day - with a top of 36 degrees in Adelaide tomorrow afternoon.
READ MORE: Hooded gunman caught on CCTV outside Adelaide home
South Australia is set to sear over the Australia Day long weekend.
South Australia is set to sear over the Australia Day long weekend. (Windy)
It will be very busy at South Australia's beaches too, with huge Australia Day crowds set to flock to the water.
People are being urged to seek shade where possible and drink plenty of water.
Thousands of holiday-makers in the regions will see temperatures soar further on Monday, reaching up to 41 degrees at Murray Bridge, 44 at Waikerie, and up to 44 at Renmark.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/weather-news-south-australia-heatwave-long-weekend-adelaide-tour-down-under-final-stage/d369fdd0-bdf3-4175-bac8-ebad390df0d4
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https://www.9news.com.au/national/queensland-weather-residents-told-to-prepare-to-leave/44a37d5c-90fd-4368-92aa-fbe68355d73c
After more than 24 hours of unrelenting rain in Townsville and areas further north, evacuation orders are in place for a number of residents, as a flood emergency unfolds.
More evactuation centres have opened in Townsville overnight as the evacuation zone widens.
Residents in Cluden, Hermit Park, Idalia, Oonoonba, Railway Estate and Rosslea have been asked to "leave as soon as you can" by Townsville Local Disaster Management Group Chair Andrew Robinson.
CHECK THE LATEST WARNINGS: https://disaster.townsville.qld.gov.au/
Townsville
After more than 24 hours of unrelenting rain in Townsville and areas further north, residents are being told to prepare to leave. (Nine)
Townsville flood evacuation zones map @ midnight local time Feb 2
Residents in Cluden, Hermit Park, Idalia, Oonoonba, Railway Estate and Rosslea have been asked to "leave as soon as you can" (Townsville City Council)
"Residents in the black zone must evacuate by 12 noon tomorrow," Cr Robinson said.
"Prepare your home and yourself. Move important documents and items to high areas, or take them with you. Make sure you have enough clothes and medication for at least three days.
"Do not stay in your home. If you do not have a safe place to go to, make your way to an evacuation centre before 12 noon."
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Another round of extremely heavy rainfall totals is expected in parts of northern Queensland, just days after some areas experienced some of their heaviest rainfall on record.
In a deluge earlier this week that was rarer than a one-in-2000 year event, numerous locations between Townsville and Cairns received around 1500 millimetres of rain within three days, resulting in major flooding, widespread evacuations, and two flood-related deaths.
Now a new burst of heavy rain is setting in over the same area again, and while totals won’t be as phenomenally huge as last week, extremely heavy falls with flooding are still expected:
The BoM is predicting six-hourly rainfall rates of 140 to 200mm this weekend.
24-hour totals are likely to exceed 200mm in places.
In total, we could see more than 500mm in some areas in the next three days.
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/yet-another-deluge-for-floodweary-north-queensland/1890349
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An unseasonably cold air mass will hit southeastern Australia this weekend, causing summer snow to settle in parts of Tasmania.
The satellite images below show a huge area of speckled cloud to the south of Australia on Friday. This cloud pattern, which is more commonly seen in winter than summer, reveals that a cold air mass is moving from the Southern Ocean towards Australia.
Image: Visible satellite image showing speckled cloud to the south of Australia on Friday.
The frigid air was already starting to spread over parts of southern Australia on Friday, although the coldest air will arrive this weekend as a winter-like southerly airstream becomes stablished between a high pressure system centred over the Bight and a low over the Tasman Sea.
Temperatures should get cold enough in Tasmania for snow to fall in elevated areas of the state this weekend. Snow will most likely be confined to areas above about 1000m elevation in central, southern and western Tasmania.
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/summer-snow-in-tasmania-this-weekend/1890369
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Tropical Cyclone Zelia will "still pack a punch" as it moves across Western Australia and slowly weakens.
At midday yesterday (3pm AEDT) the centre of the system was about 65 kilometres to the north-east of Port Hedland and moving south-east about 11km/h.
But just half an hour later it made landfall near the De Grey River mouth, 54 kilometres north-east of Port Hedland, as a category 4 storm.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/tropical-cyclone-zelia-updates-to-cross-coast-category-five-storm-western-australia/971a7f5f-4646-4571-838f-3113aca6b82b
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Thousands of residents in Perth Hills have spent the day cleaning up after a freak storm swept through the area.
The microburst lasted just minutes and tore through multiple suburbs after 6pm (AWST) yesterday.
Strong winds of 100km/h uprooted trees, downed power lines, sent debris flying and damaged homes across several communities.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/wa-communities-clean-up-after-freak-storm-smashes-multiple-suburbs/8a72b1c0-1104-44d2-b155-0e52ceff0823
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Severe Tropical Cyclone Alfred (Category 3) is over Coral Sea close to Queensland coast this Saturday before moving further away from the coast during Sunday and Monday.
Image: A four-hour infrared satellite loop in the early hours of Saturday morning, March 1st, showing Severe Tropical Cyclone Alfred to the east of Qld.
Despite the uncertainty about the track of this system in the mid week, Alfred is moving close to the coast this weekend, and severe coastal hazards are likely for southeast Queensland and northeast New South Wales.
According to the BoM "A large and powerful to potentially damaging easterly swell as well as abnormally high tides are developing about exposed central and southern Queensland beaches from later today, and possibly to northern New South Wales from Sunday or Monday. "
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/severe-cyclone-alfred-brings-dangerous-swells-and-high-tides-/1890412
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A massive clean up is underway in Western Australia after a second microburst in just three weeks pummelled the south west.
The storm first hit Perth, hard, ripping roofs of homes in the foothills and tearing up trees.
As the monster weather system moved south, it was still packing a punch as it hit Albany early this morning, dumping a record amount of rain on the south coast town.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/western-australia-weather-news-second-microburst-in-three-weeks-delivers-record-rainfall-to-albany/e16bbe1d-547c-43c5-b8b5-dc3b41ee4bd4
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Multiple parts of the country are bracing for heatwave conditions over the weekend with authorities warning people to plan ahead and stay informed.
The mini heatwave will largely impact parts of south-eastern Australia over the coming days in a short and sharp burst of hot weather.
Temperatures will nudge 40 degrees Celsius in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney from today until Sunday as warm, dry north-easterly winds blanket multiple states and territories.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/australia-weather-update-temperatures-to-plunge-after-weekend-mini-heatwave/bf532548-2221-40a2-b0fa-fb9223988bd4
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The city received 301.4mm of rain from 9am Tuesday to 9am yesterday, making it Townsville's heaviest day of rain in 27 years.
The majority of the severe rain fell between 1am and 9am, with residents waking up to roads swamped and their homes inundated by flash flooding.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/weather-news-townsville-record-breaking-rain-highest-in-27-years-flooding/41f67c0d-9879-4b48-bad6-63e978810df1
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Perth is set to endure a prolonged spell of abnormally hot March weather next week, with the city on track to register its hottest five-day spell in 40 years this late in the season.
While Perth is no stranger to intense bouts of heat during summer, March is typically a time of year when temperatures start to moderate in southwestern Australia.
This March, however, is showing no signs of leaving summer behind, with maximum temperatures in Perth predicted to reach 31 to 38°C for at least the next 10 days, which is about 1 to 8°C above average for this time of year.
Next week could feature a five-day stretch with daytime maximum temperatures reaching 36 to 38°C. If this happens, it would be the first time since 1985 that Perth has had five days over 36°C this late in March.
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/perth-to-experience-lateseason-heatwave-not-seen-for-40-years/1890466
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More than 100 homes have been inundated and dozens of people airlifted to safety as the flood emergency escalates in western Queensland.
It is now the biggest weather event many residents have ever experienced and there are fears stock losses will hit the hundreds of thousands.
"Levels of the Thompson River have hit about 8.6 metres and are expected to rise. That is higher than the 1974 level," Premier David Crisafulli said
https://www.9news.com.au/national/queensland-floods-more-than-100-homes-inundated-and-dozens-of-locals-airlifted-to-safety-in-flood-emergency/40fa2683-9c2d-4b80-ac4c-fdc82bd59060
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An Australian beach has recorded a strange phenomenon, one that experts say has a lesser likelihood of happening than being struck by lighting. Meteorologists detected off the coast of Sydney what they are calling a long period between waves. They say that this is highly unusual to happen at this time of the year, Nine News reported.
A wave period almost triple the normal length expected was seen at Freshwater Beach Tuesday morning. The time that passes between consecutive two wave crests hitting a certain point was noted to be 22 seconds long, according to Weatherzone. A normal wave period, according to experts, is between 8 and 12 seconds.
Longer wave periods are also known as groundswells and can generate extremely powerful waves. The Manly laboratory says this is one of the largest wave periods recorded in the country since 1992.
https://www.sott.net/article/498629-Less-likely-than-being-struck-by-lightning-Australian-beach-witnesses-rare-occurrence-unusually-long-period-between-waves
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Large stretches of the NSW coast remain under a hazardous surf warning today as the clean-up from the monster waves continues.
A low-pressure system in the southern Tasman Sea has been generating large and powerful waves along the NSW coast this week.
The Bureau of Meteorology says heavy surf today is expected to be hazardous for activities such as rock fishing, boating, and swimming, on beaches from Eden, south of Sydney, to Bryon on the far north coast.
LIVE UPDATES: Donald Trump's long-heralded 'Liberation Day'
Surfers tackled big swells at Ben Buckler, North Bondi, on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (Photo: ack Tanner/SMH) (Nine)
NSW Police Marine Area Command is urging people to stay out of the sea and avoid walking near surf-exposed areas.
Sailors crossing shallow water and ocean bars should consider changing or delaying their voyage.
Boats already on the water should carry the appropriate safety equipment, including lifejackets. Crews should log on with their local Marine Rescue radio base.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/nsw-weather-update-hazardous-surf-warning-for-coastal-areas/e0afa61c-a6fb-48eb-b6e1-add23fb01914
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A burst of wintry weather will hit Tasmania this weekend, delivering a mix of snow, small hail, rain and blustery winds.
A pair of cold fronts will sweep across Tasmania during the next three days, one on Friday night and another on Sunday.
Image: Satellite image showing a cold front located to the south of Australia on Friday morning.
The first front will cause wind and rain to increase late on Friday as temperatures take a dive into the evening. It should get cold enough for snow to fall to about 700m above sea level on Friday night into Saturday morning, possibly a bit lower. This has prompted a Bush Walkers Weather Alert in the Western and Central Plateau districts, and a Warning to Sheep Graziers in the North West Coast, Midlands, Upper Derwent Valley and the South East districts. Western parts of the state could also see small hail at times on Saturday.
Wind and showers will ease briefly on Saturday morning before increasing again late Saturday into Sunday, ahead of and with the passage of the second cold front. This second frontal system will be stronger than the first, with a good chance of damaging wind gusts in some parts of the state. There will also be more rain, highland snow and small hail in the mix on Sunday.
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/twin-cold-fronts-bringing-snow-to-tasmania-this-weekend/1890500
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The extent of flood waters that have engulfed Queensland over the past fortnight is so widespread it has covered an area more than four times the size of the United Kingdom. The inundation is larger than France and Germany combined - and is even bigger than Texas.
The seemingly endless plains of outback Queensland are so vast and remote as to boggle any attempts to visualise the scale of what is being described as one of the most devastating floods in living memory.
The Bureau of Meteorology said on Friday that the flooding had "severely impacted" more catchments spanning about 1m sq km since prolonged downpours began drenching south-west and central Queensland on 23 March.
To put that in perspective, Tasmania is 15 times smaller (64,519 sq km or 24,911 sq miles); the land area of the United Kingdom is 241,930 sq km, and Texas is 695,662 sq km.
https://www.sott.net/article/498835-Bigger-than-Texas-the-true-size-of-Australias-devastating-floods
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Y7kFGGw_bUc?feature=share
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Farmers in Queensland, Australia have suffered huge losses after floods engulfed over half a million square kilometres of the outback, causing carnage to farms and livestock.
The most recent figures from the Queensland Department of Primary Industries (DPI) suggest over 144,000 livestock, mostly cattle, sheep and goats, have been killed by the floods which were the result of heavy rains across the State.
According to the Bureau of Meteorology, some towns had recorded as much as 500mm (20 inches) of rain in the space of a week, which is the typical yearly total for the region.
The devastating floods come a few weeks after Cyclone Alfred did its damage, hitting Queensland's southeast coast and northern New South Wales.
As the floodwaters ease, more realistic figures of the true extent of the damage are likely to increase significantly as more dead livestock are revealed. It is also estimated that 3,183kms of fencing has been impacted, along with 4,076kms of private roads.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/jt1C-Sa_uXE?feature=share
https://www.sott.net/article/498955-Over-144000-livestock-dead-after-huge-floods-cause-carnage-in-northeast-Australia
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Tropical Cyclone Tam had a short-lived life as a tropical cyclone this week, but as drier mid-latitude air wrapped around the ex-tropical system, the central pressure of the system rapidly dropped. Through a process called explosive cyclogenesis, the pressure of the system dropped 18hPa in 24 hours, classifying it as a bombing Tasman Low. As seen in the image below, powerful winds reaching 45-50 knots (85-90 km/h) were circulating around the system on Wednesday.
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/extropical-cyclone-tam-brings-huge-waves-to-nsw-coast-on-good-friday/1890531
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Millions of Australians may need to switch up their long weekend plans as the east coast prepares for an Anzac Day deluge.
A cool change is sweeping across New South Wales and Victoria this week and a low pressure system is forecast to bring a rainy washout from now until Sunday.
While some capital cities will enjoy some pleasantly warm temperatures for late April, dark clouds threaten to cast a gloomy shadow over the three-day weekend.
READ MORE: How the teal and other independents could shape the federal election
Rainy weather Anzac Day Australia
Victoria and NSW are in for a wet long weekend. (Windy.com)
New South Wales
In Sydney, around 46mm of rain is expected to drench the city across the three-day long weekend after an already wet start to the week.
The temperature will remain balmy with a top of 25 degrees on Friday but showers may dampen any campers hoping the make the most of the final blast of April warmth.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/anzac-day-weather-forecast-australia-2025-state-by-state-guide/f6b0ba2b-2226-4d4c-b162-bae1fdcc5c7f
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The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe weather warning as thunderstorms develop across Sydney and surrounding regions.
Hail has been reported in parts of Sydney, with the bureau warning storm cells could bring heavy rainfall and flash flooding across the state.
"Severe thunderstorms are likely to produce damaging winds, large hailstones and heavy rainfall that may lead to flash flooding over the next several hours in parts of the Hunter, Metropolitan and Central Tablelands districts," the bureau said.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/hail-hits-sydney-with-warnings-of-severe-thunderstorm/8a479861-e8fc-42df-90b6-f5a76b11cf28
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As winter edges closer, Brisbane has been handed an early, crisp preview of the season ahead. Over the first ten days of May, each evening has seen feels-like temperatures dip into the high teens, marking the coldest start to May in terms of evening apparent temperature since 2023. It's a chill that even the most seasoned Brisbanites are starting to notice.
You might be thinking, “Isn't this typical for Brisbane in May?”
Well, sort of—but this drop feels noticeably different. Gusty winds and the ongoing presence of strong high pressure ridges have shaped much of May's weather. To illustrate what has been going on, today's synoptic chart shows a strong ridge settled over eastern Queensland, which has been causing the notably cold evenings by Brisbane's standards.
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/brisbanes-coldest-may-evenings-in-two-years/1890573
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Victoria and South Australia have been slammed by back-to-back record-breaking cold mornings, with this week delivering the coldest May temperatures in decades — in some locations, ever.
After Monday’s icy plunge, Tuesday morning was even chillier.
Coldstream, in Melbourne’s Yarra Valley, sank to –5.5C (22F) — the coldest May reading in 30 years of records. It beat its own Monday record of –5.3C (22.5F) and was colder than anywhere in Victoria’s alpine region, including Mt Hotham at –4.9C (23.2F).
Every one of Victoria’s nine forecast districts woke to severe frost.
Ballarat hit –3C (26.6F), its coldest night of 2025 and the first time it’s dropped below zero this year. Kanagulk in the Wimmera dipped to –4.1C (24.6F) — the coldest temperature recorded there in any month since data collection began in 2004.
South Australia also froze.
https://electroverse.substack.com/p/record-cold-persists-across-victoria
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Heavy rain continued across a broad area of eastern and southern NSW over the last 24 hours, with parts of western Sydney receiving their heaviest single day of May rain on record.
A slow-moving low pressure trough being fed by moisture-laden air from the Tasman Sea caused widespread rain over NSW on Thursday into Friday morning. This latest bout of rain continues a week-long drenching that started last weekend and has brought record-breaking rain and floods over the past 5 days.
In the 24 hours ending at 9am AEST on Friday, May 23, falls of 100 to 150mm were recorded over a broad area of the NSW coast and ranges stretching from the Port Macquarie region down to about Moruya. There were even a few places that picked up more than 200 mm in this period. Some of the standout totals included:
233 mm at Macquarie Pass (Illawarra)
181 mm at Richmond Airport (Western Sydney)
157 mm in Woy Woy (Central Coast)
157 mm at Darkes Forest (near Wollongong)
154 mm at Lake Macquarie (Hunter)
146 mm at Gosford (Central Coast)
131 mm at Faulconbridge (Blue Mountains)
120 mm at Terrey Hills (Sydney)
102 mm at Taree (Mid North Coast)
Richmond Airport’s 181.4mm of rain in the 24 hours to 9am on Thursday was the airport’s wettest May day on record. Penrith (115.6 mm), Terrey Hills (120.2 mm), Lake Macquarie (153.6 mm) also set new May records for these sites. Sydney’s Observatory Hill collected 72mm of rain, its wettest May day in 24 years.
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/record-may-rain-hits-western-sydney-as-nsw-soaking-continues/1890606
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5:31pm May 24, 2025
South-eastern parts of Australia are being warned of widespread destructive winds and rain, as the most powerful cold front of the year approaches land.
A pair of cold fronts are expected to sweep through SA, Victoria and NSW in the coming days, bringing strong wind gusts, hazardous coastal conditions, rain and snow.
The first cold front is moving from Tasmania to parts of South Australia and western Victoria from Saturday afternoon, bringing with it showers and isolated thunderstorms.
READ MORE: Sydney's Warragamba Dam set to spill after days of heavy rain
Parts of Tasmania and Victoria are expected to get the worst of the rainfall over the coming days. (Bureau of Meteorology)
There is also a risk of isolated damaging wind gusts in elevated parts of Victoria this evening, before the cold front is expected to weaken.
Meteorologists believe the second front will pose more serious danger when it reaches Adelaide on Sunday night, bringing a band of rain, showers and thunderstorms.
Strong wind gusts between 80 and 100km/hr are expected to hit parts of SA and western Victoria on Sunday evening, before extending to the rest of Victoria and NSW on Monday and Tuesday.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/aussies-states-warned-to-brace-for-most-powerful-cold-front-of-the-year/790255a9-0339-45ba-9264-3f8482178246
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Queensland was gripped by an unseasonably chilly day on the second to last day of May, with Gladstone recording its coldest May day in nearly 50 years, marking a rare late-autumn chill for the coastal city. Friday's cold conditions were driven by a coastal trough, reinforced by a pool of cold air in the upper atmosphere. This setup produced widespread cloud cover with frequent rain and showers across broad areas of eastern and southern Queensland, which are persisting into today, the final day of May.
Image. Observed temperatures at 1:30 pm EST on Friday 30th across parts of eastern and southeastern Qld and northeast NSW.
Image. Temperature (shaded), wind (barbs), and geopotential height (black contours) at 500 hPa—approximately 5.5 km above the surface—highlighting the pool of cold mid-level air, along with forecast 6-hour accumulated rainfall totals to 1 pm EST Saturday across Queensland and parts of northeast NSW.
The cold standout was Gladstone, where the temperature only managed to climb to 16.3°C just after 4 pm—nearly 10°C below the May average. This made it the coldest May day since 12th May 1978, when the maximum reached just 13.8°C, and marks 47 years since the city has been this cold in May.
Several locations across eastern and southeastern Queensland also recorded their coldest May day in between 1 and 5 years, with maximum temperatures ranging from the low teens to low 20s (falling 6 to 12°C below the May average). Even Brisbane joined in the chill, only reaching 18.9°C—its coldest May day in three years, and nearly 6°C below the monthly average.
The coldest maximum temperatures recorded on Friday 30th May included:
Coldest May day in 5 years:
Miles: 14.0°C – nearly 10°C below average
Kingaroy: 14.3°C – nearly 8°C below average
Warwick: 14.4°C – around 7°C below average
Biloela: 14.5°C – roughly 12°C below average
Moranbah Airport: 14.7°C – approximately 12°C below average
Coldest May day in 3 years:
Toowoomba: 14.3°C – about 6°C below average
The system responsible for the cold has been delivering rainfall to eastern Queensland and northeast New South Wales since Thursday 29th May. Significant rainfall totals recorded in the 24 hours to 9 am Saturday include:
Yamba (NSW): 69.6 mm
Evans Head (NSW): 51.8 mm – heaviest May rain in 5 years
Coolangatta Airport: 48.2 mm
Ballina (NSW): 43.2 mm
Cape Byron (NSW): 38.2 mm
Gold Coast Seaway (Qd): 31.6 mm
Brisbane (Qld): 5.2 mm
Widespread rainfall totals of 20–30 mm were reported at multiple locations across southeast Qld and northeast NSW.
What’s next?
The coastal trough and upper-level disturbance are expected to maintain areas of heavy rain across southeast Qld and northeast NSW into Sunday morning. The entire system will gradually move east, bringing relatively drier conditions to these regions. However, some showers may linger throughout the remainder of Sunday, ahead of another system that is forecast to bring areas of heavy rain on Monday.
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/coldest-may-day-in-almost-50-years-for-parts-of-queensland/1890630
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Brisbane just shivered through its coldest June morning in 23 years. The mercury in the CBD plunged to a brutal 5.2C (41.4F), the lowest since 2002. Brisbane Airport went even colder, bottoming out at 3.5C (38.3F) — its coldest June reading since 2009.
Across Queensland, thermometers plummeted well below average.
According to the Bureau of Meteorology, a southerly polar air mass is acting "like a lid," trapping the cold near the ground and turning clear skies into a recipe for deep freezes. When the heat radiates out overnight, it leaves the surface freezing.
Oakey hit –4.2C (24.4F) this week, the coldest reading in the state. Applethorpe posted -3.5C (25.7F), Kingaroy dropped to -2.8C (27F), and Kyoomba bottomed out at a teeth-chattering -5.3C (22.5F), where calves were crusted in frost.
Even bigger anomalies were seen in towns north of the Tropic of Capricorn.
Mount Isa dropped to –0.7C (30.7F), its coldest June night in 44 years. Richmond recently saw –0.1C (31.8F), breaking a 25-year record, and Winton froze at 0.0C (32F)—the town’s first freezing night in over two decades.
https://electroverse.substack.com/p/brisbane-freezes-through-23-year
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Corine Brown
21 Jun 2025, 6:16 PM NZST
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Image: Minimum temperature forecast for Saturday 21 June. Source: ECMWF
Image: Minimum temperature forecast for Saturday 21 June. Source: ECMWF
If you woke up early in NSW or the ACT this Saturday morning and thought it was colder than usual, you'd be right. Just look at some of these temperature observations across parts of NSW and the ACT:
Image: Temperature observations in degrees Celsius at 7:10am AEST, Saturday, June 21, 2025.
In some places, it was even colder than one of Australia's Antarctic research stations.
"Well, that’s a bold claim," we hear you say. "Where’s your proof?"
Well, dear readers, look no further than a comparison between the minimum temperatures at Goulburn, NSW, and Davis Station, Antarctica. Goulburn shivered through a bone-chilling –10.0°C this morning, which you can actually see in the image above, well exceeding Davis Station's minimum of –8.4°C. This was Goulburn's coldest morning in eight years and its coldest June morning in a quarter of a century.
Not to be outdone, Cooma also left Davis Station out in the cold, reaching a minimum of –8.6°C just after sunrise today.
Even our nation's capital gave Davis Station a run for its money. Canberra reached a frigid –7.6°C just before 6am, only 0.8°C shy of reaching Davis Station's minimum. This was Canberra's coldest morning in eight years and its coldest June morning in 39 years.
And if you're wondering whether the nation's capital was the only place in the ACT to see temperatures below freezing, then look no further than Tuggeranong, which recorded its coldest morning since July 2018 with a minimum temperature of –7.5°C. This was also the town's coldest June morning in 25 years.
Joining the “Coldest Morning in Eight Years” Club was Condobolin, NSW, which dropped to an icy –5.5°C. Not only was this the town's coldest morning of any month in several years, it was also its coldest June morning in 27 years.
Elsewhere in NSW, minimum temperatures of note include:
Forbes (–5.5°C) - coldest morning since July 2018 and coldest June morning in 27 years
Cowra (–3.1°C) – coldest June morning in a decade
Temora (–4.1°C) – coldest June morning in seven years
Young (–4.3°C) – coldest June morning in six years
Fowlers Gap (–0.7°C) – coldest June morning in five years
Penrith (1.1°C), Braidwood (–6.6°C) – coldest morning since July 2023
The reason for these especially cold temperatures? A high pressure system centred over southeast Australia, together with near-cloudless skies and a cold, particularly dry air mass aloft. You can see the combination of these factors in the image below, with the dryness of the air mass represented by dew point temperatures at 850hPa (approximately 1500m aloft) ranging from red (colder than –8°C) to brown (colder than –16°C) to purple (colder than –32°C) to white (colder than –40°C). For those unfamiliar with the principle of dew point temperatures, the dew point is the temperature at which air will become saturated with moisture and condense into dew; the lower the dew point, the drier the air is.
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/colder-than-antarctica-coldest-morning-in-a-quarter-century-for-nsw-act-/1890677
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t’s been a bumper start to Australia's snow season, against Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) foretellings.
Mount Hotham has been hit by a fresh dumping. The storm began midday Tuesday and intensified overnight, with a foot recorded in resort zones. Temperatures plunged to around -5.6 C (21.9 F), creating ideal conditions for powder retention.
As of of Wednesday morning (June 25), it’s a frozen landscape of deep powder, with more snow still falling.
Heavy snowfall hits Hotham.
Victoria’s other alpine areas were also hammered—Falls Creek picked up 37 cm (14.6 in) and Mount Buller logged over 20 cm (7.9 in) over the past 24 hours, marking one of the strongest seasonal openings in years.
"We had a magical delivery that started yesterday afternoon," Mt Buller spokesperson Rhylla Morgan said. "It's nice and cold, and is set to stay that way."
Resort crews worked fast to clear roads and prep lifts. The Great Alpine Road is open, though all vehicles must carry diamond-pattern snow chains—a legal requirement in alpine zones. Visibility is now good, winds are low, and lifts are running.
This comes on the heels of a massive early-June system that delivered 70 cm (27.5 in) to Falls Creek and 65 cm (25.6 in) to Hotham. Cold fronts have been frequent this month, feeding what could be one of the best seasons in decades.
This season contines to stand in stark contrast to the BOM’s "hot winter" forecasts: "The BOM expects one of Australia’s warmest winters on record with mean anomalies of ~1.5 °C above baseline."
https://electroverse.substack.com/p/australias-best-start-to-a-snow-season
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Jess Miskelly
28 Jun 2025, 5:06 PM NZST
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Image: Frosty mornings have dominated this June in the ACT and southeast NSW. Source: Pexels: Krivec Ales
Image: Frosty mornings have dominated this June in the ACT and southeast NSW. Source: Pexels: Krivec Ales
June has been the coldest in decades over parts southeast Australia, particularly in the ACT and southeast NSW around the Southern Tablelands.
The month started mild enough, then a vigorous cold front with a long-lasting low pressure system blasted the region over the King's birthday long weekend. Lingering high pressure cells and very dry air behind the front led to a run of nights that dropped into the severe frost territory, below -5°C. Then the pattern repeated, twice.
Canberra and Cooma are leading the charge for the coldest stats.
Canberra is on track for its coldest June in terms of minima since 1984, averaging just -2.5°C for the month so far. With forecasts below -3°C the next two nights, that statistic is unlikely to change. Every morning, bar seven of the 28 days of the month so far, has been below zero, with a coldest-in-decades run of three consecutive days below -7°C last week. Now, the capital is heading for another four consecutive nights under –5°C. Aside from last week, that hadn’t happened in any month since 2018.
Days in Canberra have also been cold. It's more typical for cold nights to be accompanied by near or slightly above average days, but the frequent fronts and their lingering cold airmasses and daytime low cloud have prevented that this month. Maxima for Canberra this June so far are tracking around one degree below average at 12.3°C, making the combined average of minima and maxima for the month to date just over 5.0°C. That's the coldest for June since records began in 1939. By the end of Sunday, that title could just be pipped by 1960 or 1965, but it will still have been the coldest in decades.
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/heading-for-the-coldest-june-in-decades-for-the-act-and-southeast-nsw-/1890691
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Heavy rain which could bring flooding, strong winds and large surf is set to hit Australia's east coast next week.
The wintery blast will bring gusts of up to 100km/h, forecasters say, with rainfall totals reaching 300mm possible in some areas, potentially causing flooding.
Weatherzone says the potential east coast low is developing off the northern NSW coast, and will deepen on Monday.
READ MORE: UK singer makes emotional return to iconic festival after health struggle
Heavy rain which could bring flooding as well, strong winds and large surf is set to hit Australia's east coast next week.
Heavy rain which could bring flooding as well, strong winds and large surf is set to hit Australia's east coast next week. (Weatherzone)
"Showers and fresh winds could intensify into heavy and potentially flooding rainfall, and damaging winds as the system develops into a potential ECL somewhere near the NSW coastline on Tuesday, July 1," Weatherzone forecasters said.
"Rainfall accumulations of 100-200mm are possible over a period of 36-48 hours to Thursday next week, across parts of the Mid North Coast and Hunter, possibly extending as far south as the South Coast.
"The deep feed of moisture coming off the Tasman Sea could interact with local topography around the Mid North Coast, Hunter and Central Coast, with rainfall totals reaching 300mm possible in some parts."
https://www.9news.com.au/national/weather-forecast-sydney-nsw-east-coast-low/a13d37c2-0ea2-4ff9-8575-bd7332f1bc6a
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coast, it's developing a colossal low-pressure complex covering most of the Tasman Sea.
The weather system that brought cyclone-like winds and rain can be seen from space as it moves away from Australia. As the system moves away from the east coast, it's developing a colossal low-pressure complex covering most of the Tasman Sea. (Weatherzone)
However, the ocean will still be impacted by the moving system, with large and powerful tides bringing hazardous surf conditions to the entire coast.
Winds in Sydney, the Central Coast, Wollongong, and Newcastle will reach 20km/h this morning before easing midday.
NSW will see sunny weather today with clear skies with a high of 18 degrees.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/bomb-cyclone-system-moves-away-from-east-coast/c3846d1b-6162-4229-bd37-faddeb8e26a5
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James Wall
05 Jul 2025, 12:36 PM NZST
It’s been a busy start to the winter season for southern Australia with record breaking cold for parts of the southeast, dramatic thunderstorms in southwest WA and an East Coast Low which impacted the central and southern areas of NSW (and eastern Vic) last week, to name but a few.
The weather has taken a decidedly more settled note in the last couple of days; however, it is set to ramp up a little into the second part of the weekend.
An approaching surface low, supported in the upper levels by a cut-off low or pool of cold air will help provide the ingredients for thunderstorms across NSW on Sunday. This will provide the necessary upper support in the atmosphere to allow mild air at the surface to rise and become unstable. Once these parcels of air rise into the upper atmosphere they cool and condense to form clouds. The unstable air continues to rise higher into the atmosphere and eventually, cumulonimbus clouds form. There are the characteristic ‘towering’ clouds that can bring lightning, heavy precipitation and strong winds. Although thunderstorms are more common in the summer months due to the additional energy provided by the sun, they are not completely unusual in the Australian winter. However, this particular weather set up is more akin to spring than winter.
ECMWF accumulated precipitation for Sunday 6th July
The thunderstorms are expected to be isolated at first across parts of central/east NSW but become scattered in places during the afternoon and evening as they spread erratically eastwards. A lot of places will miss out on the action, however, if you do manage to cop one it could pack a punch with the potential for heavy downpours, hail and strong wind gusts (locally damaging up to 90km/h).
The best chance of seeing a thunderstorm is for parts of the Central and northern Tablelands, the Hunter as well as the central coast (including Sydney and Newcastle) and Central Western Slopes and Plains. Keep an eye on the radar if you have outdoor plans in these regions.
The weather across NSW will return to a more settled note early next week with the action reserved for southern and central parts of both SA and Vic with a deep low over the Southern Ocean bringing stormy conditions on Tuesday and Wednesday.
To stay up to date with all the latest forecasts check https://www.weatherzone.com.au
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/winter-strikes-again-with-thunderstorms-forecast-for-areas-of-nsw-on-sunday-/1890712
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By Mikala Theocharous
12:49pm Jul 10, 2025
NSW is set to be lashed with wild weather again, with fresh severe damaging wind warnings for the state.
Damaging winds are developing today over the southeastern and central parts of the state, including Sydney, Woolongong and Newcastle, the Bureau of Meteorology said.
Specifically, residents in Wollongong, Nowra, Kiama, Ulladulla, Sydney Airport, Campbelltown, Goulburn, Bowral, Katoomba, Newcastle and Maitland will cop the brunt of the winds.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/weather-news-damaging-winds-to-hit-nsw-again-bureau-warns/2a3cdecb-a5ed-4f68-844b-0cb5f408551a
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Ben Domensino
11 Jul 2025, 12:05 AM NZST
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Image: Australia has never recorded a financial year as warm as 2024-25. Source: iStock / Siwawut
Image: Australia has never recorded a financial year as warm as 2024-25. Source: iStock / Siwawut
The data is in, and Australia just registered its warmest financial year on record with a mean temperature more than 1.5°C above the long-term average.
It may seem odd to measure the climate of Australia’s fiscal year, but there are benefits to compiling climate summaries for the 12-month period from July to June.
Firstly, the July-to-June period contains one whole summer (and severe weather season) in Australia. This can make it a good alternative to using calendar years for annual climate summaries, which split summers but contain whole winters.
Secondly, financial year climate summaries can be aligned with other reporting processes that occur over the July-to-June period. This makes it easier for researchers and analysts to compare climate information with other datasets over the same period.
A financial year like no other
Based on temperature observations collected from 112 weather stations across the country, Australia's national mean temperature in the 2024-25 financial year was 1.68°C above the 1961-90 average. This made it Australia’s warmest financial year in records dating back to 1910, beating the previous record from 2015-16 by 0.28°C.
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/australias-warmest-financial-year-on-record/1890723
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A strong cold front will pass over Tasmania today, bringing with it intense north to northwesterly winds as well as rain and isolated thunderstorms. The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a Severe Weather Warning for Damaging winds across Tasmania today. The system is expected to sweep across the state, reaching western areas in the early afternoon, central regions in the mid-afternoon, and moving east by evening. As the front passes, winds will shift to a more westerly direction and gradually subside.
Damaging wind gusts have already been observed in elevated locations, including gusts of 107km/h at Scotts Peak and 113km/h at Mount Wellington this morning. Furthermore, a gust of 98km/h at Maria Island at noon was the strongest gusts observed at that location in more than 9 months.
High-elevation areas such as the Central Plateau and Mount Wellington will continue to face the most severe threat this afternoon. Here, damaging winds may average 70 to 80 km/h, with isolated gusts possibly exceeding 120km/h within heavy showers and thunderstorms.
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/tasmania-braces-for-powerful-winds/1890741
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It has been a mediocre week for snowfalls in the Australian mainland alpine region, but despite only minor top-ups since last weekend, the snow depth is the best for July since 2021.
The depth at Spencers Creek (elevation 1830m, roughly halfway between the NSW resorts of Perisher and Thredbo) was around 160cm this Friday, July 18.
Here's how that compares to the officially recorded peak depth at Spencers Creek in July over the last four years:
2024: 124.6cm on July 30 (also the season peak)
2023: 131cm on July 13 (also the season peak)
2022: 129.5cm on July 27 (the season kept improving with a late peak of 232cm on September 20)
2021: 183.6cm on July 29 (the season peak)
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/deepest-july-australian-snowpack-in-four-years/1890739
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It isn't just eastern Australia that's shivering. Perth just posted its coldest morning since July 2010, with 0.3C (32.5F) registered at the city’s Mt Lawley station.
Suburbs saw even harsher readings: Jandakot dropped to -1.3C (29.7F), Perth Airport and Swan Valley hit -0.8C (30.6F), and Gingin froze at -2.2C (28F).
Mandurah set a new record for summer cold with 3.9C (39F), breaking its previous low of 4.4C (39.9F) from 2015. The wind chill took it down to -2.3C (27.9F).
A cold pool of air trailing a storm front is to blame, with clear skies overnight removing any insulating cloud cover.
As for daily highs, Perth barely reached 14C (57F) -- its coldest day in years. Garden Island managed just 13.3C (55.9F), while Bunbury saw its coldest July day on record at 12.6C (54.7F).
Another freezing morning is expected Saturday before a new front brings showers and the chance of thunderstorms on Sunday.
Across the Tasman, New Zealand is also freezing.
https://electroverse.substack.com/p/perth-shivers-western-europe-chills
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A colossal low pressure system—nearly half the size of the Australian mainland—is gripping central and eastern Australia. Spanning around 3.4 million km², its vast footprint is so extensive that tracing its boundary would take you on a 9,000 km journey. For perspective, that’s further than driving from Perth to Brisbane and back—twice.
This massive system is triggering warnings for damaging winds across NSW, Tas, and Vic, bringing showers and rain to the east and southeast, along with thunderstorms over southeast Qld.
Rainfall totals over the past 24 hours were as follows:
SA: 15–70 mm;
Vic: 15–60 mm;
Tas and NSW: 15–35 mm;
Qld: 15–50 mm.
A number of locations recorded their highest daily July rainfall in decades:
SA:
• Adelaide (West Terrace/Ngayirdapira): 29 mm – highest in 47 years;
• Edithburgh: 34 mm – highest in over 30 years;
• Mt Crawford AWS: 46 mm – highest in 30 years;
• Multiple other sites: highest July totals in 5 to 30 years.
Vic:
• Longerenong: 29 mm – highest in 52 years;
• Ararat: 29 mm – highest in 35 years;
• Mildura: 19 mm – highest in 35 years;
• Stawell: 32 mm – highest in 29 years;
• Swan Hill: 24 mm – highest in 27 years;
• Horsham Aerodrome: 24 mm – highest in 27 years.
As the trough pushed through the eastern inland, it sparked a remarkable 1,600 km-long line of thunderstorms stretching from Mt Isa through the outback of Qld into northern NSW. Warm and humid air from the northwest Indian Ocean and the Coral Sea to the northeast clashed with much colder southern air, fuelling the activity. Some outback locations in Qld also recorded notable falls. Thargomindah Airport received 22 mm, marking its highest daily July rainfall total in 5 years, while Charleville Aerodrome recorded 24 mm, the highest daily July rainfall in 3 years.
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/colossal-low-pressure-system-grips-eastern-australia/1890757
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After a grim preseason outlook, the Australian Alps are turning it on. A string of solid July storms has pushed bases to their highest levels in years.
Resorts like Hotham have seen more than 40 cm (16 in) from the latest system alone (through overnight Sunday), driving the base to a season's high of 123 cm (40.5 in).
All lifts are now spinning.
A developing negative Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) is set to pump yet more moisture into southeastern Australia through late winter, stacking the odds for further storms. Latest models call for above-average precipitation from August through October.
https://electroverse.substack.com/p/australias-snow-season-delivers-record
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Anthony Sharwood
02 Aug 2025, 3:33 PM NZST
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Image: Guyra was covered in up to 15cm of snow by midday on August 2, 2025. Source: Shane Battistuzzi
Image: Guyra was covered in up to 15cm of snow by midday on August 2, 2025. Source: Shane Battistuzzi
Some of the heaviest snowfalls in years have turned the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales into a white, wintry landscape more reminiscent of the Snowy Mountains in the state’s south.
Up to 15cm of snow was reported by midday in the town of Guyra (population approx. 2000) by local Shane Battistuzzi, who took these pictures of his yard and nearby areas after the snowfall began around 7am.
The snow soon started to accumulate rapidly. This was the scene at 8am.
Image: Guyra begins to turn white on the morning of Saturday, August 2, 2025. Source: Shane Battistuzzi.
By 10am, the snow was already noticeably deeper in Mr Battistuzzi’s yard.
Image: The snow just kept on coming down in Guyra on the morning of Saturday, August 2, 2025. Source: Shane Battistuzzi.
And this was a view of a nearby landscape in town at midday.
Image: Guyra’s exotic trees gave the town a distinctly European appearance under a blanket of snow by midday on Saturday, August 2, 2025. Source: Shane Battistuzzi.
Guyra, at an elevation of 1330m, is the highest town of any significant size in Australia outside of the alpine region.
For the organisers of the town’s annual Guyra Snow Ball, the timing of today’s weather could hardly have been more perfect. The ball takes place this evening and bills itself as a "guaranteed fabulous freezing night out!
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/heavy-snow-blankets-nsw-northern-tablelands/1890774
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After a period of prolonged rainfall deficiencies, large parts of South Australia have finally enjoyed a much wetter-than-average month, with July 2025 being the wettest in 27 years.
SA's statewide July average rainfall of 30.5mm doesn’t sound like a huge amount in raw terms, but it includes relatively low totals from the state’s far north. In short, July 2025 was:
South Australia's wettest July since 1998
57% above the state’s long-term July rainfall average
Just the second month to date in 2025 with above-average statewide rainfall
The wettest July in over 100 years of records at numerous locations
The chart below shows South Australian rainfall deciles in July 2025.
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/south-australias-wettest-july-in-27-years/1890772
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Flash flooding has left drivers trapped, homes inundated and streets swamped in Perth.
https://www.9news.com.au/videos/national/flash-flooding-leaves-drivers-trapped-homes-inundated-in-perth/cmdu430hp00120hnt9x49qhbj
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https://youtu.be/PEOmpTm6n6A?si=hjq9m5QPF7vQGnwA
On Saturday, August 2, visitors flocked to the New South Wales town of Guyra, braving harsh conditions and long travel times to experience a rare heavy snowfall.
Locals and tourists embraced the winter wonderland, engaging in snowball fights, building snowmen, snapping photos, and even celebrating a surprise engagement. Brendan Gough, a visitor from Queensland, saw snow for the first time, describing it as a “surreal experience.”
The snowfall created challenging conditions on the roads, with the New South Wales State Emergency Service responding to over 100 vehicles stranded in the snow, according to a statement released on Sunday.
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Since 1986, Australia has measured coral cover on the Great Barrier Reef. In 2022, 2023, and 2024, coral surged to the highest levels ever recorded. 2025 cover is holding strong — but now only the fourth highest on record: cue catastrophe headlines.
The Australian Institute of Marine Science publishes regional coral cover data yearly. Using weighted averages from official sources, the reef over the past few years is the healthiest we've ever known it. These numbers don’t lie.
https://electroverse.substack.com/p/great-barrier-reef-holding-strong
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Ben Domensino
08 Aug 2025, 4:51 PM NZST
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Image: There will be more rain in Sydney this weekend. Source: iStock / SolStock.
Image: There will be more rain in Sydney this weekend. Source: iStock / SolStock.
There has only been one completely dry day in Sydney so far this month and the city will see more wet weather this weekend, continuing its wettest August in 9 years.
In an average August, Sydney would typically receive about 80 mm of rain during the entire month. But this August has already exceeded this long-term average, with 98 mm of rain accumulating in the city during the eight days ending at 9am on Friday, August 8.
Despite only being 8 days into the month, this is already Sydney’s wettest August since 2016. It has also been the city’s 11th wettest start to August in 168 years of records.
Unfortunately for Sydneysiders who prefer dry days and uninterrupted weekend sport, more rain is likely to soak Sydney and surrounding areas on Saturday and Sunday.
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/sydneys-wettest-august-in-9-years-to-get-even-wetter-this-weekend/1890788
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Felix Levesque
15 Aug 2025, 3:41 PM NZST
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Image: High to extreme fire danger ratings across many northern Australian fire districts on Sunday, August 17, 2025. Source: Weatherzone
Image: High to extreme fire danger ratings across many northern Australian fire districts on Sunday, August 17, 2025. Source: Weatherzone
Increased fire danger across parts of northern Australia, including Darwin, comes with a surge of hot and dry winds from the interior.
75 days without rain
The dry season is living up to its name for Darwin and the Northern Territory, with over 75 days since the last rain recorded in Darwin. This allows the vegetation across northern Australia to dry out and cure – priming it to ignite into a blaze at the smallest of flames.
Hot and dry conditions over the past 10 days have led to multiple bushfires raging across the landscape. One blaze near Katherine, at the intersection of the Victoria and Stuart Highways about a three and a half hours’ drive southeast of Darwin, has been active over the past two weeks.
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/first-extreme-fire-danger-rating-of-the-season-for-darwin/1890804
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By April Glover
12:33pm Aug 14, 2025
Perth residents are facing a record-breaking wet winter after rainfall totals edge towards a level not seen in nearly 30 years.
The Western Australia capital's long-term average rainfall for June, July and August are expected to eclipse the most rain Perth has copped since 1996, according to Weatherzone.
Perth has already been drenched with 129.8mm of rain in June and 174.4mm in July – both surpassing the long-term averages for the usually sunny city.
Perth rain and wild weather
The rainfall streak will continue across WA for the remainder of August. (Weatherzone)
There has been 88.8mm of rainfall so far in August.
The halfway point of the month is nearing and the total just needs to beat 122.7mm to break the 1996 record.
The rainfall streak is forecast continue across WA for the remainder of August.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/perth-weather-record-monthly-rainfall-in-west-australian-capital/57b39733-45d2-4737-9997-442f19905339
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On August 18, Thredbo Top Station in New South Wales plunged to -13.2C (8.2F), more than 3C (5.4F) colder than any night this year.
More than that, it was also NSW’s coldest reading in more than seven years, and the nation’s lowest since Liawenee, Tasmania, set a state record at -13.5C (7.7F) in July 2024.
https://electroverse.substack.com/p/australia-freezes-at-132c-snow-in
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Australia’s Snowy Mountains are in the grip of a rescue-heavy winter, with crews already handling more than triple the call-outs of last year.
Heavy early dumps set the tone in June, with blizzards dropping 50–70 cm (20–28 inches) across the ranges and Perisher stacking up a 90 cm (35 inches) base by August — described by locals as the best cover seen in years.
Visitor numbers have surged with the conditions, and so have accidents: 14 rescues so far this season, compared with just four in 2024.
Deputy Zone Commander Matt Price: “Facing one of our most active snow seasons in years, our alpine volunteers have shown exceptional skill in very challenging conditions.”
Police Commander Toby Lindsay warned too many were still heading out unprepared: “There is no such thing as being too prepared. A Personal Locator Beacon can be the difference between life and death.”
Emergency services this week staged a joint alpine rescue drill at Perisher, bracing for more incidents as snow continues to pile up into the back half of the season.
https://electroverse.substack.com/p/aussie-alpine-rescues-up-cold-freezes
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Warragamba Dam in Sydney's outer south west has begun to spill, as the recent torrential rainfall in New South Wales fills it to the brim.
WaterNSW said in a statement that the dam, in the Wollondilly Shire south-west of Sydney, started to spill at 1pm.
Around 30 gigalitres - or 30 billion litres, is anticipated to spill each day at its peak.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/sydney-nsw-rain-flood-risk-forecast-warnings-updates/01a8b26d-c110-46a6-8f1e-dcec52c7bd7e
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Spring weather this year is expected to be influenced by several broad-scale features:
A negative Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) is expected to emerge to the northwest of Australia this spring, increasing the amount of moisture-laden air flowing over Australia from the tropical Indian Ocean.
The Pacific Ocean is expected to stay in a neutral phase this spring (neither La Niña nor El Niño), although a weak La Niña-like pattern may develop.
Sea surface temperatures in the Australian region are expected to be warmer than average throughout spring. These relatively warm waters will help supply additional atmospheric moisture for rain and clouds over the Australian continent this spring.
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/wet-spring-on-the-way-for-large-parts-of-australia/1890796
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Perth endured its coldest day in half a century.
On Monday, Western Australia's capital city posted a maximum of just 11.4C (52F) — the city’s coldest day since July 1975.
Temperatures across the western parts of the state held 5–10C below average, with some towns barely climbing into single digits.
A lingering pool of polar air, coupled with heavy cloud cover, kept the chill locked in.
The chill capped what has been Perth’s wettest winter, overall, since 2000, with the city surpassing its average rainfall in June, July, and August — the first time that’s happened since 1996.
According to the BOM's pre-season outlook, Perth was to expect a "drier-than-usual" winter and a "warmer-than-average" one and all. Wrong again.
https://electroverse.substack.com/p/perths-coldest-day-in-50-years-antarctica
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Australia has seen one of its snowiest seasons of the century, with a fresh Antarctic blast this week delivering even more.
Resorts are already reporting up to 30 cm (12 in) in the first 24 hours of the storm’s onset, with another 40–50 cm (16–20 in) forecast across the higher ranges. That will push storm totals on the upper slopes close to 1 m (3.3 ft) by Saturday, adding to season accumulations already around 3 m (10 ft) — levels not seen in years.
The Bureau of Meteorology had forecast a weak snow year back in May. Instead, Aussie ski fields are logging bumper levels.
https://electroverse.substack.com/p/snow-piles-up-in-the-australian-alps
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Ski resorts in Tasmania and on the mainland are celebrating a bumper snowstorm this weekend, as a frigid airmass originating in Antarctica was pushed north over southern Australia overnight, dumping fresh powder over alpine ranges.
In Tasmania, Ben Lomond Alpine Resort reported at least 15 cm of fresh snow overnight, while Mount Mawson reported around 5-10 cm in the past 24 hours.
On the mainland, though, there was even more cause to celebrate.
Resorts across the Vic and NSW alpine ranges, all received 20-26 cm of fresh snow in the 24 hours to 9am today. This bumper crop helped Perisher crack the 2-metre mark in total snow depth, with a 2.1 m depth now recorded over the course of the 2025 snow season. There were even reports of people being snowed in at Perisher this morning. Meanwhile, Falls Creek experienced its lowest maximum temperature in four years today in that frigid air, with the mercury rising to only -3°C.
But if you thought it was only the alpine regions that received a healthy dose of powder with this system, think again. In Tasmania, kunanyi/Mount Wellington, just outside of Hobart, was turned white, making for a beautiful winter scene on the summit’s webcam.
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/gusty-polar-blast-turns-southeast-australia-snow-white-/1890843
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Parts of Australia that have received a soaking this month may not get much of a reprieve, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
The Bureau just issued the long-range forecast for the 2025 spring season, which confirmed that most of eastern Australia - including Sydney - is expected to exceed median rainfall between September and December.
The east coast and central Australia will cop the worst of it, with increased flood risks in east NSW and south east Queensland during periods of heavy rain.
Above average rainfall is likely across NSW and the ACT, with Sydney expecting a 65 per cent chance of receiving above average rain in the month of October.
Sydneysiders will get little relief from the rain this spring. (Sitthixay Ditthavong)
The west season is expected to start earlier than usual in Queensland and the NT, both of which have an 80 per cent chance of receiving more rain than usual.
SA, Victoria, and eastern parts of Tasmania are also expecting above average rainfall.
But some parts of the country will escape the downpour
Parts of southern WA, including Perth, have up to an 80 per cent chance of having lower rainfall over the spring months.
The wet season is also predicted to start later there.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/spring-weather-forecast-australia-2025-what-to-expect-everything-to-know-explainer/3e51b48f-caf0-474c-8466-2a6a38451a18
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A blizzard has buried Australia’s ski fields under some of the deepest snow in years.
Resorts across the Aussies Alps logged equally impressive totals: Mount Buller in Victoria received 53 cm (21 in) in just two days. Hotham posted 77 cm (30 in), Thredbo 71 cm (28 in), Perisher 67 cm (26 in), Charlotte Pass 70 cm (28 in), Falls Creek 69 cm (27 in), and Buller 62 cm (24 in). Snow even reached lower elevations west of Sydney: "the most significant fall in years," said the locals.
The Antarctic blast delivered temperatures of -5C (23F) and winds strong enough to put chairlifts on hold. Once skies cleared, Perisher reported “perfect winter” conditions, with 87 freshly groomed runs and packed powder across the slopes.
https://electroverse.substack.com/p/massive-end-of-winter-snow-buries
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Kununurra, in northern Western Australia, posted 8.7C (47.7F) on Sept 4 — its coldest September temp ever recorded.
Looking at the GFS (maps below), there's a lot more to come.
Latest runs show an outbreak of blues and purples engulfing much of the continent Sept 10, driving anomalies well below the 1981–2010 norm.
GFS 2m Temperature Anomalies (C) Sept 10 [tropicaltidbits.com]
The cold is set to expand from WA into SA, Victoria, Tasmania, and New South Wales, bringing widespread frosts and likely additional cold records. Even Queensland isn’t spared, with models pointing to sub-seasonal lows spilling into the state’s interior.
https://electroverse.substack.com/p/australia-turns-blue-records-continue
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What is the Indian Ocean Dipole?
The Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) is a climate driver that involves the movement and location of warmer and colder waters along the equator in the Indian Ocean. These ocean movements have a corresponding effect on the atmosphere above those waters, that change the regional rainfall patterns.
A negative IOD is associated with warmer waters near Indonesia, and cooler waters near the Horn of Africa. The atmosphere responds by increasing convection near Indonesia, that then flow through to Australia and typically increase rainfall over much of the west and southeast of the country via northwest cloudbands. So far this century, there have been four negative IODs: 2010, 2016, 2021 and 2022.
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/negative-indian-ocean-dipole-a-nearcertainty-to-develop/1890850
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Major cities in south-east Australia will briefly experience warmer temperatures this weekend.
Sydney will hit 21 degrees on Sunday and 27 degrees by Monday, whilst Melbourne, Adelaide, Hobart and Canberra will also experience temperatures in the early-mid twenties over the next few days according to Weatherzone.
The warmer weather is due to northerly winds pushing warmer wind from the interior of the country southwards, giving Aussies in the south-east some sunshine and warmth after a wet August.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/weather-forecast-australia-sydney-melbourne-south-east-warmer-temperatures-spring/57571e88-82df-4777-9661-61d6cd7f547f
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Rain is set to ease along eastern New South Wales from later this morning, but strong winds are expected to batter the coast.
The Bureau of Meteorology yesterday forecast that from about mid-morning, the low-pressure system that brought yet another soaking to the state would start to move away from the coast, drawing a lot of the rain with it.
"By the later part of the day, and certainly going into Friday, we're looking at much drier conditions across the mainland," senior meteorologist Miriam Bradbury said.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/nsw-weather-forecast-rain-winds-storms-updates/7d045c24-8f1a-4432-8913-46813259c219
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Severe thunderstorms brought large hail and heavy rain to southeast Queensland’s Wide Bay and Burnett forecast district on the afternoon of Thursday, October 2, 2025.
Skies were clear at midday with light sea breezes, but as as an upper trough moved over southern Queensland. in the afternoon, the combination of warm and humid conditions at the surface with colder temperatures aloft provided all the elements for an explosive afternoon.
Explosive convection near Childers
Satellite imagery from Thursday shows late morning cumulus cloud with cloud top heights of just over 1,500m rapidly exploding upwards to nearly 10,000m near Childers – roughly halfway between Bundaberg and Maryborough – within a space of just half an hour or so.
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/severe-thunderstorms-with-giant-hailstones-lash-parts-of-se-queensland/1890917
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Queensland's capital is set to swelter under its hottest October day in years.
The temperature in Brisbane is forecast today to rise more than 9 degrees above the average for this time of year, as the mercury soars to 35 degrees.
Brisbane will be Australia's warmest capital city, while areas including Ipswich, Gympie and Logan will reach the mid-30s.
READ MORE: A wild party broke out at Elaine's house. Weeks later, she vanished
Brisbane temperature
The temperature in Brisbane is forecast today to rise more than 9 degrees more than the average for this time of year today. (Windy.com)
Rockhampton is expected to push 39 degrees.
If today's temperature reaches 35 degrees, it will be the warmest October day for Brisbane since 2021.
Tomorrow and Saturday are forecast to be a little cooler, but temperatures will still in the high 20s.
Sydney is also facing a scorching start to October after its second-hottest September ever.
Last month was a month of extremes for the NSW capital, which endured its wettest September day in 146 years early in September, according to Weatherzone.
The weather reporting site also said the month as a whole was the second-warmest September siince 1858, when weather records began.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/sydney-second-hottest-september-on-record-hot-start-to-october-coming/22099183-91e6-49c1-adc1-1395cdc6255c
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Wild winds on Friday morning have prompted severe weather warnings for damaging or destructive winds in SA, Vic, NSW, Tasmania and the ACT, as a cold front surges over southeastern Australia.
The engine driving the severe weather is a strong low pressure system over the Southern Ocean, and while the low is centred well south of Tasmania, the winds circulating it are still strong enough to lash that state and southeastern parts of the mainland.
Not long after sunrise on Friday, a gust of 120 km/h was recorded at Mt William in Victoria’s Grampians,
A short while later, a gust of 139 km/h was recorded at Scotts Peak in Tasmania's southwest, marking the sixth straight day when Scotts Peak’s strongest wind gust exceeded 100 km/h.
Friday's strongest gust of 163 km/h came at 3:00pm (AEDT) at the notoriously windy Maatsuyker Island on the the southern tip of Tasmania.
Like Scotts Peak, Maatsuyker Island has also seen six days of remarkably strong winds, with a sequence of peak gusts from Sunday through to Friday morning of 139 km/h, 137 km/h, 133 km/h, 135 km/h, 113 km/h and 163 km/h.
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/severe-weather-warnings-in-five-states-as-wind-gusts-to-163-kmh-in-tasmania/1890931
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Thunderstorms stretching more than 800 km across NSW caused large hail and prolific lightning on Friday.
Warm and humid air interacting with an unstable atmosphere and a broad low pressure trough produced widespread and intense thunderstorm activity over NSW on Friday.
While a few storms were rumbling across NSW in the morning, the day’s heat was the key ingredient that caused the storms to spread out and intensify in the afternoon.
Image: A storm cell off Sydney’s Northern Beaches on Friday afternoon. Source: Felix Levesque.
At 3pm there were multiple storm cells building over central and northern NSW and by 6pm, storms were stretching more than 800 km from Sydney to the state’s northern inland. Storms also spread north of Sydney up through the Mid North Coast throughout Friday afternoon.
Around 400,000 lightning strikes were detected within a 500 km radius of Dubbo between 2pm and 7pm on Friday. Of these, around 70,000 were cloud-to-ground strikes and the rest were cloud-to-cloud strikes
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/severe-storms-pummel-nsw-with-400000-lightning-strikes-in-five-hours/1890949
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A large area of outback heat that is set to increase over the weekend and days after could cause record high temperatures across three states.
Weatherzone reports that South Australia, Queensland, NSW, and the ACT could all break their heat records for October, with temperatures expected to reach the mid-40s.
Over the past week, Western Australia's north-west saw a large buildup of hot air that is now spreading across the country.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/record-heat-set-to-hit-three-states-october/a6114dca-4ae5-446e-8765-48d5aa6ffcbf
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Parts of northern Australia will be baking in a severe heatwave this weekend, with authorities advising people to stay indoors amid fears of a spike in heat-related illnesses.
The Bureau of Meterology issued warnings yesterday relating to severe heatwave conditions in Queensland and the Northern Territory lasting from today to Sunday.
"Severe heatwave conditions are building over northern, central and eastern Queensland, and are expected to persist until a milder southerly change contracts the severe heatwave conditions to the far north of the state early next week," the BoM said
https://www.9news.com.au/national/heatwaves-warning-as-queensland-and-nt-set-to-swelter-through-weekend/4ec573c9-d644-4c44-8747-5d115502e60e
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The Australian region is primed for severe tropical cyclones this season, despite an ongoing trend of reduced tropical cyclone activity over Australian waters in recent decades.
Australia’s tropical cyclone season officially runs from the start of November to the end of April. During this six-month period, the Australian region usually sees around 9 to 10 tropical cyclones, with about five of these becoming severe tropical cyclones (category three or higher) and four systems making landfall.
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/australias-202526-tropical-cyclone-outlook/1890969
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A blast of polar air has engulfed southeastern Australia, delivering freezing lows across five states and the ACT — weeks before the start of summer.
The coldest air settled over the alpine regions, with Perisher Valley (NSW) reaching -8.8C (16F), the nation’s low. Nearby Mt Ginini on the ACT border dropped to -5.4C (22F) —within 0.1C of its coldest October night— while Canberra touched -0.2C (32F).
GFS 2m Temperature Anomalies (C) Oct 28 [tropicaltidbits.com]
In Victoria, Mt Hotham tanked to -7.3C (19F), just a degree above its record October minimum, and Falls Creek logged -6.6C (20F) — its coldest October night in 19 years. Lower down, She Oaks fell to -0.2C, its coldest October night in 17 years, Kilmore Gap to 0.9C, its coldest in any month for three years, and Gelantipy to -2.3C, the coldest in three years.
Tasmania froze too, with Liawenee hitting -4.2C (25F) and Campania, northeast of Hobart, recording -1C (30F) — its chilliest October night in 17 years. In South Australia, Keith West dipped to -1.5C (29F), the state’s coldest temperature this October.
The sharp frost came from the remnants of a polar air mass funneled north.
https://electroverse.substack.com/p/freezing-lows-grip-five-aussie-states
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Sydney and Brisbane just had their warmest October on record, despite a relatively cool end to the month.
A surge of cold air caused temperatures to plummet in eastern Australia earlier this week. In Brisbane, the temperature only reached 22.2°C on Tuesday, while Sydney’s maximums remained below 18°C on both Tuesday and Wednesday. These chilly days, which were about 4 to 5°C below average for this time of year, were a cold drop in an ocean of warmth this month.
Sydney and Brisbane, and many areas in between, just experienced their warmest October on record based on maximum temperatures.
Sydney’s average maximum temperature for the month will come in at around 26.6°C. This is more than 4°C above the monthly average and warmer than the previous October record of 26.2°C from 1988.
Brisbane’s average maximum temperature in October will come in at around 29.4°C, more than 2°C above average and comfortably higher than the previous October record of 28.7°C from 1918.
Many other areas in Queensland and New South Wales also broke their maximum temperature records this month. This included new state records when Birdsville, Qld reached 46.1°C and Wanaaring, NSW reached 44.9°C on October 21.
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/warmest-october-on-record-for-sydney-brisbane/1890984
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Showers and storms are forecast for Australia's south-east today, but it's only the beginning of nearly a week of wild weather.
Isolated showers and storms are expected across northern and eastern Queensland today, according to the Bureau of Meteorology, with some scattered storms in the south-west as well.
Damaging winds and hail are possible in the state's south-east.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/thunderstorms-heavy-rain-forecast-nsw-queensland/bf4331c3-15dc-4f83-ac67-753f7a47433f
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Australia has opened November on a cold note, delivering a sharp flip from last month’s heat and posting a string of early-season records across multiple states.
Stations that broke October high-temperature records only weeks ago are now setting new November cold benchmarks, underscoring the volatility sweeping the subtropics.
Notable new record minimums for the month of November include the 10.6C (51.1F) at The Monument, 10.2C (50.4F) at Julia Creek, 10.1C (50.2F) at Mount Isa Airport, 9.4C (48.9F) at Blackall, and a frosty 3.9C (39F) at Cleve in South Australia.
Daytime highs also broke records, including the 21.6C (70.9F) logged in Cloncurry and the 21.1C (70F) at Urandangi Airport — unusually low for early November in Queensland’s northwest.
Warmth dominated October headlines. Now, in a matter of days, large parts of inland Australia have swung to the opposite extreme, owing to strengthening southerlies, polar intrusions, and a cooling Pacific.
And there’s more where that came from (on Nov 8 and Nov 9):
https://electroverse.substack.com/p/australia-starts-november-with-record
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Thunderstorms rumbled through Darwin late Friday night and early Saturday morning, dumping an impressive 76.8mm of rain at Darwin Airport in the 24 hours to 9am. Perhaps even more impressive is the fact that the bulk of the rainfall, 68.2mm fell in just one hour (between 9:30pm and 10:30pm ACST). Prior to this event, Darwin Airport hadn't experienced a day this wet since the end of the last wet season, when 115.4mm fell April 2, 2025.
While the wet season has commenced in Darwin (the wet season runs from November to April), this event stands out as an early-season outlier. Darwin Airport hasn't had a November day this wet since 2016. In fact, 76.8mm is equal to more than half Darwin's average precipitation for the month of November.
The atmosphere was primed to deliver heavy rainfall while levels of moisture and instability were quite high. Furthermore, a light steering flow from the east directed slow-moving thunderstorms over Darwin as shown in the radar loop below.
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/darwins-wettest-day-in-months/1891003
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The topsy-turvy weather we've experienced this season continues, as we move from a phase where temperatures have been below average to a phase of increased warmth. A deepening heat trough is moving over NSW this weekend, bringing elevated fire danger including Total Fire Bans on Saturday, 15th November. On Monday, the elevated fire danger will extend into southern Qld, with Brisbane expecting its highest maximum so far this month.
wkwk-Sat
Image: NSW Fire Danger ratings on Saturday, 15th November including Total Fire Bans for the (left to right) Northern Riverina and Lower Central West Plains districts (Bureau of Meteorology).
Hot temperatures peaking in the high-thirties funnelled by a heat trough will spread across central NSW on Saturday, November 15th, and combined with gusty winds is creating elevated fire potential for the Northern Riverina and Lower Central Plains districts. Extreme fire danger ratings and Total Fire Bans have been issued for the first time this season for both districts.
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/total-fire-bans-issued-as-heat-intensifies-over-nsw-then-qld/1891018
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Thunderstorms are sweeping across Australia's east coast, bringing heavy rainfall, wind gusts and large hailstones.
Brisbane and other parts of south-east Queensland appear to have copped the worst of it so far, and the Bureau of Meteorology has warned the wild weather there and in NSW is expected to stretch across the weekend.
There was flash flooding in Boonah in Queensland's Scenic Rim while hail up to seven centimetres was reported near Goondiwindi on Saturday afternoon.
There were rain delays on the Sunshine Coast between Beerwah and Beerburrum with some services held up for almost an hour due to a signaling issue.
Meteorologist Shane Kennedy said the wild weather, which began on Friday night, would continue.
"Overnight on Saturday into Sunday, showers will develop into quite a broad rainband extending from the north-west all the way down to the south-east," Kennedy said.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/severe-thunderstorm-warnings-queensland-nsw-victoria/165621d9-7161-4c21-9a56-e74e4728e162
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Australia's first tropical cyclone of the season could reportedly develop as early as next week, as sea surface temperatures warm off the northern coast.
Weatherzone reported that sea surface temperatures in the region were topping 31 degrees, well above the minimum of 26.5 degrees needed for a cyclone to form.
"Water temperatures to the north of Australia are currently sitting around 1 to 2 degrees above average for this time of year, with sea surface temperatures as high as 31 degrees to the west of the Top End and north of the Kimberley," Weatherzone's Ben Domensino wrote.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/tropical-cyclone-risk-warm-water-north-west-of-australia-increase-possibility-storm/c0b9a52d-0fc8-4916-9f63-3d01efae9673
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Severe Tropical Cyclone Fina will pass near Darwin on Saturday night into Sunday morning, lashing the city and surrounding areas of the northwest Top End with powerful winds, heavy rain and flooding.
Fina barrelled over the Cobourg Peninsula on Friday night as a category two system, before strengthening into a category three severe tropical cyclone over the warm Van Diemen Gulf on Saturday morning. This is the first severe tropical cyclone to form in the Australian region during November for 20 years.
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/fina-to-pass-near-darwin-as-severe-tropical-cyclone-on-saturday-night/1891034
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Most of Australia is set for a sweltering summer and sweaty nights, according to the Bureau of Meteorology's long-range forecast.
Released today, it revealed that temperatures across most of the country will be warmer than average.
Parts of Queensland, the south-east, and even Tasmania are facing an increased chance of unusually warm daytime temperatures.
Full article here:
https://www.9news.com.au/national/australia-long-range-summer-weather-forecast-every-state-and-territory/9141fda6-9e8a-42df-8145-882d05dab06d (https://www.9news.com.au/national/australia-long-range-summer-weather-forecast-every-state-and-territory/9141fda6-9e8a-42df-8145-882d05dab06d)
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Snow on the first day of summer, December 1, has swept Australia’s southeast as a deep pulse of polar air drove temperatures as much as 15C below average across Victoria, NSW and Tasmania.
Melbourne logged its coldest December 1 since 1996, reaching just 15C (59F) — and feeling closer to 8C once factoring in the wind-chill from strong south-westerlies. Ballarat, Canberra and Hobart also endured their coldest start to summer in decades.
Over the Alps, Mt Hotham managed a daytime high of only -0.6C (30.9F), breaking its previous December 1 record of 0.5C (from 2019), with Thredbo dipping to -0.8C (30.6F), also a new record.
Summer snow began falling, and settling across the likes of Mt Buller, Falls Creek, Mt Baw Baw and Mt Wellington.
This marks at least the sixth snowfall event for the mainland Alps since early November, giving the region one of its snowiest spring-summer transition periods in modern records. Mt Buller reported fresh, wind-packed drifts on exposed ridges.
Dozens of southeastern locations are now registering their coldest start to summer in decades, with feels-like values plunging to mid-single digits in metropolitan areas — and as low as 2.5C (36.5F) at Melbourne Airport.
There’s more to come for the East through Tuesday.
https://electroverse.substack.com/p/record-cold-start-to-summer-for-australias
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Canberra has logged its first sub-zero summer temperature in more than a century of record-keeping.
At 5:50 am on December 2, Canberra Airport fell to -0.3C (31.5F), breaking the previous summer record of 0.3C (32.5F) set in 2012. The older Acton site reached 0C (32F) in December 1924, but no Canberra station had ever dipped below freezing in summer until now (books dating back to 1912).
A sharp push of Antarctic air into southeastern Australia on Monday delivered rare summer snow to Tasmania and the mainland Alps, including Mt Hotham:
Then a strong high centered over the region, in a position more typical of winter, delivered clear, calm overnight conditions. Temperatures at Mt Hotham sank to -2.8C (27F), with Thredbo Top Station shivering at -4.0C (24.8F) — both anomalously cold.
https://electroverse.substack.com/p/canberras-first-freezing-summer-temp
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northern side of a low pressure trough. This weather pattern also caused damaging winds and severe thunderstorms, both of which prompted warnings from the Bureau of Meteorology.
Hottest weather in years as fires take hold
Temperatures soared in the state’s west as Tibooburra reached 44.2°C, while Bourke, Brewon and White Cliffs all got above 43°C on Saturday. In the state’s east, Gosford hit 42.0°C and Badgerys Creek in Sydney climbed to 41.9°C.
Several locations in NSW had their hottest day in about 5 to 6 years on Saturday. Gosford’s 42°C was its highest temperature since January 2020, while Dubbo’s 42.1°C was its hottest day since December 2020.
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/hottest-day-in-5-to-6-years-as-fires-scorch-parts-of-nsw/1891071
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Lachlan Marchant was one of several mineworkers who saw a huge dust storm as it moved slowly across the landscape.
https://www.sott.net/article/503348-Huge-dust-storm-rolls-through-the-Tanami-desert-in-the-Northern-Territory-Australia
https://youtu.be/7-jdUkhmbWM
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Eastern Australia has experienced an active thunderstorm pattern in recent days. Amid the broader storm activity, slow-moving thunderstorms affected the Sydney Metropolitan, Illawarra, Central Tablelands and Hunter regions on Friday, prompting heavy rain warnings. This story looks at the nature of these storms, focusing on why they became slow-moving and how the atmospheric setup supported heavy rainfall.
Thunderstorms on Friday produced very intense short-duration rainfall, particularly across parts of the Central Coast, Hunter and Sydney regions.
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/slowmoving-storms-drenched-eastern-australia/1891083
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Sydney is having its hottest day in seven years and its equal hottest December day on record after the mercury soared to 42.2°C.
Westerly winds and clear skies have allowed an extremely hot air mass to be driven across the Sydney Basin today, Friday December 19, 2025. This heat was exacerbated by two things:
The Foehn effect – where the air heated as it descended the eastern slopes of the Blue Mountains.
The Urban heat island effect – additional heating caused by man-made materials across the Sydney Basin, including roads, airports, tiled roofs and concrete buildings.
The heat arrived early in the day, with the city’s main weather station at Observatory Hill already reaching 34°C by 10am. Then at 1:35pm, the mercury hit 42.2°C.
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/sydney-hits-422c-its-equal-hottest-december-day-on-record/1891094
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The monsoon has developed over Australia for the first time this season, prompting flood watches in parts of the Northern Territory and Queensland over the Christmas period.
The monsoon refers to a reversal of winds over the Australian tropics, where the dry east or southeasterly winds that prevail for much of the year are replaced with moisture-laden winds from the northwest. These rain-bearing monsoon winds affect northern Australia in periodic bursts throughout the wet season, which runs from November to April. Australia usually sees about two to four active phases of the monsoon each wet season.
Typical wind patterns and associated rainfall impacts during an active monsoon phase in northern Australia. Source: Weatherzone.
Image: Typical wind patterns and associated rainfall impacts during an active monsoon phase in northern Australia. Source: Weatherzone.
Northwesterly winds have started flowing over northern Australia this week, marking the arrival of the Australian monsoon for the first time this wet season. As a result, some areas of the NT’s Top End received more than 100 mm of rain during the 24 hours ending at 9am on Tuesday, including 135 mm at Murganella Airstrip.
The satellite images below show vast areas of cloud flowing over the country’s northern tropics on Tuesday, revealing the monsoon arriving for the first time this wet season.
Visible satellite images captured by the Himawari-9 satellite on Tuesday, December 23, 2025. Source: Weatherzone.
Image: Visible satellite images captured by the Himawari-9 satellite on Tuesday, December 23, 2025. Source: Weatherzone.
The average monsoon onset date for Darwin is around December 28 to 29, so the monsoon arriving by the middle of this week is slightly earlier than usual.
Rain is likely to become heavier and more widespread over the NT and Qld during the remainder of this week and will likely continue into early January.
Flood watches have been issued for parts of the NT and Qld and flood warnings are likely to follow as the rain starts to fill rivers. This rain event may cut off outback roads in the coming one to two weeks, with heavy rain also expected to extend towards eastern Qld between Christmas and New Year’s Eve.
Be sure to check the latest flood watches and warnings in the coming days and weeks for the most up to date information in your area.
Note to media: You are welcome to republish text from the above news article as direct quotes from Weatherzone. When doing so, please reference Weather - Australia 7 Day Forecasts & Weather Radar | Weatherzone (http://www.weatherzone.com.au) in the credit.
Read More
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/monsoon-arrival-triggers-flood-watches-in-nt-qld/1891104
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Southeastern Australia recently posted some anomalous summer chills.
On Dec 26, Flinders Island fell to 1.8C (35F) — a new monthly cold record for December and around 5C (9F) below its typical winter average. Nearby Low Head also set a December record with a reading of 5.6C (42F).
And there’s more to come:
https://electroverse.substack.com/p/australia-shivers-snow-builds-across
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Australia’s mean temperature was more than 1.2°C above average in 2025, making it the country’s 4th warmest year in more than a century of records.
Measuring national temperature in Australia
Australia's national average temperature is measured by combining observations from 112 weather stations spread across the country. These weather stations, which extend from coast to coast and include every state and territory, make up the Australian Climate Observations Reference Network – Surface Air Temperature (ACORN-SAT) dataset.
ACORN-SAT is the official dataset for monitoring Australia’s average temperatures over time, and it has reliable temperature observations dating back to 1910.
How did 2025 compare to other years?
Australia’s mean annual temperature in 2025 was 21.8°C, which was 1.23°C above the 1961-1990 average.
This was Australia’s 4th highest annual mean temperature since records commenced in 1910, falling behind temperature anomalies of:
+1.51°C in 2019
+1.45°C in 2024
+1.35°C in 2013
Abnormally warm annual temperatures were experienced across almost all of Australia in 2025, with the exception of a few places in northern Australia. Some areas of southern Australia had their warmest year on record.
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/2025-was-australias-4th-warmest-year-on-record/1891117
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Multiple states are set to swelter next week as a hot air mass spreads across parts of Australia.
The weather system will push temperatures towards the mid-to-high 40s in parts of Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria and NSW.
The hot weather is expected to intensify over WA from this weekend before spreading across southern, central and south-eastern Australia next week.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/australia-heatwave-multiple-states-set-to-swelter-as-hot-air-mass-spreads-across-the-country/afe271a6-1435-4f37-b8ff-71830be18a2d
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Sydney’s maximum temperature peaked at 42.2°C this Saturday, January 10, making it the second time in the summer of 2025/26 that the harbour city has reached exactly that mark (the other day was December 19).
The Saturday scorcher made it the first time since 2013 that two days in the same Sydney summer have exceeded 42°C at the city's official weather station at Observatory Hill, near the southern pylon of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Many Sydneysiders still remember that 2013 summer, as the mercury at Observatory Hill peaked at 45.8°C on January 13, which remains the site’s hottest day on record.
For those who love their heat stats, the hottest temperature ever recorded in any Sydney suburb (and indeed in any suburb of any Australian capital city) was a remarkable 48.9°C at Penrith, in far western Sydney at the foot of the Blue Mountains, on January 4, 2020.
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/sydney-tops-42c-twice-in-summer-for-first-time-in-13-years/1891131
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Victoria's Great Ocean Road has reopened to traffic around the communities smashed by extreme flash flooding as residents and holidaymakers begin the huge clean up.
Melanie and Martin were arriving at their Separation Creek home when the water came screaming through on Thursday.
"We heard this cracking, roaring, cracking, and watched as our bed in our second bedroom just literally flew out under the bridge, fully made up, pillows, duvets out to sea," Melanie said.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/cleanup-after-flash-floods-hit-great-ocean-road/2f0906f5-6880-4983-bd8b-f0f30236b324
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Heavy rain that fell over the NSW South Coast on Thursday and Friday has edged north overnight, with over 100mm falling in the 24 hours to 9am Saturday over the Moruya and Ulladulla regions, with 80mm over parts of the Illawarra.
The rain has followed a low pressure system and trough offshore. With the heaviest rain wrapping around the southern part of the low, as its axis edged north, the rain went with it. That pattern will continue today, with the heaviest rain over the coming 24 hours expected in the Illawarra, Sydney and Hunter regions. Daily falls exceeding 100mm are again expected, aided by isolated thunderstorms.
Meanwhile, heavy rain has also yet again affected east Qld, with a continuing deep easterly airstream and another trough axis bringing heavy rain to the area inland of Mackay on Friday. Further north, the monsoon trough could help trigger a tropical low over the Gulf of Carpentaria later this weekend or early next week, maintaining moisture flow into northern Qld.
Further north again, a mass of cloud can be seen near Darwin. This intense convection is expected to form a tropical low in the coming 48 hours, and the northwest Top End region is on Flood Watch. The low should drift west after formation, with a high chance of developing into a tropical cyclone to the north of WA during next week. If cyclone development happened before crossing over WA waters, this would be the second cyclone to form over the Northern Region this season, following tropical cyclone Fina in December.
Whichever cyclone forms next will be the 7th over Australian waters this Wet, which has been a very active early season. The next comparable season for the number of early tropical cyclones is 1996/1997 when 7 cyclones had developed over Australian waters by mid-January.
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/nsw-heavy-rain-wraps-north-while-lows-brew-in-the-tropics-/1891140
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An intense and prolonged heatwave will sweep across Australia from this weekend into next week, causing temperatures to potentially approach 50°C and fuelling catastrophic fire danger ratings in some areas.
A large pool of hot air that has been building over Western Australia this week will spill across the country’s southern and southeastern states from this weekend. A stagnant weather pattern will then allow this heat to dig in and intensify over Australia’s southeastern inland next week, which will cause a severe to extreme heatwave and likely challenging January maximum temperature records in several states.
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/intense-heatwave-spreading-across-australia-catastrophic-fire-danger-in-sa-on-saturday/1891157
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Two South Australian locations – Andamooka and Port Augusta – have reached 50°C during the past two days as a gruelling week-long heatwave continues to grip several states.
A large pool of extremely hot air has been lingering over southern and southeastern Australia this week thanks to a slow-moving upper-level high pressure system creating a phenomenon known as a ‘heat dome’.
A heat dome occurs when hot air gets trapped beneath an upper-level high pressure system and air descending towards the ground makes the near-surface air become even hotter – a process called subsidence warming. When these heat domes last for several days, like we have seen this week, the heat can become extreme.
SA outback hits 50°C
A weather station at Andamooka, a small town located near Roxby Downs about 600 km to the north of Adelaide, registered a maximum temperature of 50.0°C on Thursday. One day later, Port Augusta also reached 50.0°C shortly before 3pm ACDT. These were both new maximum temperature records at these locations.
Prior to this week, 50°C had only officially been recorded in SA on two occasions. These were both in 1960 when Oodnadatta reached 50.7°C on January 2 and 50.3°C on January 3.
This week's pair of 50°C maximum temperatures were also the 8th and 9th 50°C on record in Australia.
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/australia-records-first-50c-in-four-years/1891172
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Some residents in Queensland's north have been forced to flee their homes after an overnight downpour sparked a sudden flood emergency.
Etheridge Shire Council issued a flash flooding emergency warning today for people in all areas of Einasleigh, about 380 kilometres north-west of Townsville, to evacuate.
Overnight rainfall totals tipped 220 millimetres in the Copperfield River catchment.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/flooding-residents-of-rural-queensland-town-urged-to-evacuate-as-floodwaters-rise/24c43d48-e987-42db-a981-1264a24b4974
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Heavy rainfall has caused flash flooding across parts of south-east Queensland and northern NSW, with more to come this evening as the system pushes north.
The Bureau of Meteorology is warning Queensland's Wide Bay Burnett and south-east coast will see six-hourly rainfall totals of between 50mm and 100mm and up to 150mm in some areas.
The severe weather warning extends from Coolangatta on the border, north to Maryborough and as far north-west as Monto.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/wet-weather-rain-south-east-queensland-northern-new-south-wales-weather-warnings-news/ef741193-214e-453f-a3a9-5dbc74bf7be1
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When storms set in late on Wednesday night and continued into this Thursday morning in Alice Springs, it made it eight days straight that the iconic Northern Territory outback city had seen rain.
The total rainfall over the eight-day streak was 125.2mm, with the 43.4mm recorded in the 24 hours to 9am Thursday being the heaviest single day of rain. There were reports of multiple rescues as flash flooding occurred in and around the normally dry Todd River.
No additional rain was recorded on Thursday between 9am and 3pm, although some showers were still in the area, meaning the streak may extend to nine days.
How unusual are Alice Springs rainfall events lasting over a week?
Alice Springs receives a relatively meagre 283.7mm of rainfall on average each year, spread out over an average of 42.9 rain days.
That means the city can expect less than one rain day per week across the year, which makes eight-day wet spells (or longer) very much a rarity. But they are not unprecedented:
The last time it rained on eight consecutive days in Alice Springs was in June/July 2023, when the streak actually lasted nine days, delivering 31mm in total.
You have to go back 44 years to find an eight-day streak of wet days in February.
What caused the last eight days of rainfall?
The loop below shows the storms lashing the Alice Springs area overnight.
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/unusual-eightday-rainy-streak-in-alice-springs/1891196
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The remote community of Alpurrurulam in the Northern Territory has recorded 250 millimetres of rain since 11pm last night, more than twice its monthly average, and its biggest downpour in more than 10 years. This has taken the four-day rain total beyond 400mm.
The Barkly Tablelands community, about 180 kilometres west of Mount Isa, recorded most of that rain (205mm) in six hours between 11pm and 5am. As a result, flooding has now set in, threatening to isolate Alpurrurulam and nearby Lake Nash Cattle Station. The road in and out, the Sandover Highway, has reportedly already become undrivable in the area.
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/remote-nt-community-cops-biggest-downpour-in-over-a-decade/1891211
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Heavy rain across large parts of the Barkly and Central Australia over the past three days has closed roads and inundated cattle stations, with more wet weather forecast to be on the way.
A tropical low has been circling in recent days in the Simpson and parts of the Barkly and Tanami areas, bringing heavy local rainfall and damaging winds.
The severe weather is expected to continue into tonight and early tomorrow morning, with a storm Watch and Act advisory declared today.
The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) has advised locally intense rainfall that could lead to dangerous and life-threatening flash flooding is possible across the southern Barkly and northern Simpson districts, as well as rainfall totals of up to 200 millimetres and damaging winds of up to 90 kilometres per hour.
It is also forecasting the chance of thunderstorms tonight across much of the NT, excluding the south-west, and severe thunderstorms in a broad area south of Daly Waters.
The BOM said it could not be certain about the position and strength of the upcoming wet weather, but urged residents to stay up to date with warnings.
https://youtu.be/bah6by3DcdA
https://www.sott.net/article/504829-Heavy-rain-soaks-Central-Australia-closing-roads-and-inundating-cattle-stations-2-feet-of-rainfall-in-48-hours
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The low pressure system over the country’s interior has been slowly moving southward, as stated in Anthony Sharwood’s story, leading to increased heavy falls over South Australia and Victoria. Flooding rainfall persists over South Australia, with a severe weather warning active for every district in the state. Yesterday the heaviest falls were recorded in the state’s west, with 24-hour totals recorded and estimated to have reached:
180mm at Ooldea (midday Fri 27th to midday Sat 28th)
124mm at Perlubie
120mm at Wirrulla
112mm at Mundamuckla
101mm at Gawler Ranges
100mm at Maralinga
In the 24 hours to 9am this morning (28th February) South Australia saw:
103mm in Minnipa (and a further 25mm+ from 9am)
75.2mm in Ceduna (and a further 30mm+ from 9am)
69.0mm in Wudinna (and a further 15mm+ from 9am)
45.4mm in Parndana
33.0mm in Rayville
31.0mm in Woomera
For many places in the state's west, it's been the heaviest rain in several years, decades in some places.
Victoria also experienced heavy falls yesterday. Some cities in western Victoria saw the heaviest rainfall in the 24 hours on February 27th than they had seen in the last 3-8 years, if not the highest February falls in a decade! Some of these cities include:
Horsham saw 96.4mm in 24 hours. The heaviest fall on record for the city (where the record starts at 1998). Of this 96.4mm, approximately 91.0mm of it fell in one hour!
Longerenong saw 52.6mm in 24 hours. The heaviest fall since November 2018, and heaviest February rain since 1973
Warracknabeal saw 47.8mm in 24 hours. The heaviest fall since January 2022
Edenhope saw 32.4mm in 24 hours. The heaviest fall since November 2023, and heaviest February rain since 2020
Kilmore Gap saw 24.4mm in 24 hours. The heaviest February rain since 2013
Latrobe Valley saw 30.2mm in 24 hours. The heaviest February rain since 2015
Charlton saw 27.2mm in 24 hours. The heaviest February rain since 2016
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/update-heavy-rain-drenching-south-australia-and-victoria-and-much-more-to-come/1891225
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Sydney and much of eastern NSW are set for a wet and stormy weekend, with showers, thunderstorms and heavy bursts of rain likely across the region. The heaviest falls are expected on Sunday, when the risk of flash flooding will be highest.
A lingering trough will generate showers and thunderstorms on Saturday, with falls of around 30-50mm possible across parts of the east, including Sydney. Locally heavier totals above 50mm may occur in thunderstorms.
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/heavy-downpours-for-sydney-and-eastern-nsw-this-weekend/1891250
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Major flooding in Queensland is flowing to the west of the state, with the town of Longreach expected to reach its peak tonight.
The outback town is bracing for a flood peak of 6.7 metres from this evening.
Earlier today, floodwaters were slowly but steadily rising and seeping into the streets.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/longreach-flooding-residents-of-outback-queensland-town-on-alert-for-major-flooding-to-reach-its-peak-tonight/7eebd72a-6c8d-44ce-9e45-7dd1d2140141
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A cleanup is under way in Far North Queensland after Tropical CycloneNarelle swept over the Cape York Peninsula, narrowly missing populated communities.
Queensland Premier David Crisafulli said the tropical cyclone left the east coast of Cape York, just south of Aurukun overnight, delivering "sizeable winds and some pretty reasonable rain" despite being downgraded to a category 2 system.
"It walked a tightrope perfectly between Coen and Lockhart River, and then ducked just south of Aurukun as it exited on the western side of the Cape," Crisafulli said.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/tropical-cyclone-narelle-queensland-northenr-territory/9ee10929-7df3-4aee-a3f0-781bf8a72bfc
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Western inland WA is expected to be the hottest part of Australia this Saturday, as temperatures are expected to soar to the high 30s for the southwest corner, and into the low 40s for the northwest corner.
A surface trough extending down WA's west coast to north of Albany, combined with plentiful sunshine has allowed temperatures to rise as much as 7-10°C above the March average through the last few days.
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/intense-late-season-heat-continues-for-western-australias-west/1891273
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Winter has arrived early in southeastern Australia, with fresh snowfall reported across the alpine regions.
Falls Creek has posted its first snow of 2026, with 8 cm (3.1 in) settling so far as temperatures dropped to -2C (28F).
The event wasn’t isolated. Snow was reported across the wider Australian Alps, including resorts such as Mount Hotham, Perisher, and Thredbo — all registering their first falls of the year.
The cold outbreak drove temperatures below freezing across elevated terrain, allowing snow to settle unusually early. Authorities warned that blizzard conditions hit some alpine areas as the system moved through, before easing into the weekend.
March snow certainly isn’t unprecedented in the Australian Alps, but an 8 cm settling is a solid early-season hit.
https://electroverse.substack.com/p/early-snow-for-aussie-alps-a-meter
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Residents of southeast Queensland woke up to dramatically cooler temperatures this morning. In fact, the following Queensland locations experienced their coldest March morning on record:
Amberley's minimum temperature of 6.2°C was the coldest March temperature in more than 84 years of records.
Toowoomba's temperature of 8.1°C was the coldest March temperature in more than 29 years of records.
Gold Coast Seaway's temperature of 12.8°C was the coldest March temperature in more than 32 years of records.
Image: minimum temperatures for Saturday, 28 March 2026. Source: Weatherzone.
In Brisbane, the temperature dropped to 14.1°C this morning, making it the coldest March morning in 18 years. It was also the coldest temperature recorded in the River City since early October.
Why did it get so cold this morning? One contributing factor was a southwesterly change which occurred yesterday, 27 March 2026. Southwesterly winds yesterday ushered in a much drier air mass, lowering the dew point in Brisbane from 15.8°C at noon to -2.4°C at 7pm, and making these record-breaking cold temperatures possible.
This cold snap will be short-lived. East to southeast winds will return for the new week, bringing higher dew points as well as milder overnight temperatures.
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/coldest-march-temperatures-on-record-for-parts-of-southeast-queensland/1891283
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The tourist town of Exmouth in Western Australia has been completely cut off as the clean-up from ex-tropical cyclone Narelle begins.
Narelle weakened to a subtropical low as it moved south-east, inland from Geraldton.
It was expected to leave the mainland between 8pm and 9pm (11pm - 12am AEDT) yesterday evening through the Great Australian Bight between Albany and Esperance.
READ MORE: The rise of Looksmaxx
https://www.9news.com.au/national/tropical-cyclone-narelle-severe-storm-batters-western-australia-coastline/5f398dd7-33fb-4e2e-8226-79371f263552
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A tropical low off the coast of Queensland has a moderate chance of intensifying into a cyclone tomorrow, increasing to a high chance on Sunday.
The chances of a cyclone forming remain high through Monday and into the week.
Tropical low 37U is currently hovering between Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/queensland-tropical-cyclone-update-easter-weather-forecast/425d59e0-3873-43f5-93c6-1177f710a526
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Multiple states are facing an early sample of winter this week as storms and a cold front sweep Australia's south-east.
Melbourne is facing a week of overcast skies and showers, with temperatures to fall from a top of 27 degrees on Thursday to a top of 17 degrees on Saturday and Sunday, and lows of 10 degrees or just below through the weekend.
Canberra will get as cold as just two degrees on Sunday and Monday, while lows of 9 degrees on the weekend are expected in Adelaide and 7 degrees in Hobart.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/severe-storms-winter-blast-south-east-australia-weather-this-week/af5772b5-375b-471d-b107-9f50eb8bfff5
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https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/drifting-snow-and-damaging-winds-in-tasmania/1891303
Strong winds continue to howl across much of Tasmania today, including Mt Mawson where snow has been falling much of the day and snow drifts continue to grow. Damaging wind gusts exceeding 100km/h have been observed in some locations, including the following peak gusts:
106km/h at Hogan Island at 1:00pm
102km/h at Mount Wellington at 10:30am
For the second day in a row, a severe weather warning for damaging winds has been issued for parts of Tasmania.
These winter-like conditions can be attributed to a polar air mass which has roared over Tasmania in the wake of a powerful cold front. In addition to the strong winds and drifting snow, this outbreak of polar air has brought subfreezing temperatures to parts of the state this morning:
Mount Wellington fell to -3.0°C at 3:48am
Liawenee dropped to -1.8°C at 3:14am
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Other cold minima around the region included:
-2.3°C at Orange, the coldest since last winter and coldest for April since 2008
-1.6°C at Coonawarra, the coldest since early spring, 2025 and the coldest for April since 1999
0.9°C at Renmark, the coldest since last winter and the coldest for April since 2024
1.4°C at Hay, the coldest since early last spring and the coldest for April since 2024
-1.8°C at Canberra, the coldest since last spring and the coldest for April since 2021,
with Perisher and Goulburn's corresponding stats being:
Perisher: -5.5C, coldest since just December and coldest for April since 2019
Goulburn: -4.1, coldest since last winter and coldest for April since 2008
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/coldest-morning-since-last-winter-over-inland-nsw-sa-and-vic/1891311