Weather in Australia 2023 and up

[Mark]

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

[Mark]

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

[Mark]

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

[Mark]

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

[Mark]

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

[Mark]

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

[Mark]

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

[Mark]

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

[Mark]

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

[Mark]

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

[Mark]

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

[Mark]

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

[Mark]

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

[Mark]

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

[Mark]

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

[Mark]

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

[Mark]

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

[Mark]

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

[Mark]

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 in the credit.
Read More
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/monsoon-arrival-triggers-flood-watches-in-nt-qld/1891104

[Mark]

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