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Yes, it can still flood in El Niño

  Record breaking rainfall, catastrophic floods and severe thunderstorms have impacted parts of eastern Australia during the last couple of months, despite El Niño underway in the Pacific Ocean. So, what is behind this wet weather?   El Niño is a...

Sydney’s muggiest morning in 13 years

Sydneysiders are sweating like a marathon runner in Marble Bar today as humid air from the Tasman Sea creates Darwin-like mugginess across the city. Evaporated moisture from a tongue of abnormally warm water flowing near the NSW coastline is...

2023 confirmed as Earth’s warmest year on record

  New data released by the Copernicus Climate Change Service has confirmed that 2023 was Earth’s warmest year on record, with an annual mean temperature close to 1.5ºC above pre-industrial levels. According to the highly-regarded ERA5 dataset, Earth’s global...

Four weeks above 43ºC in Marble Bar

Marble Bar is on track to register four straight weeks of daily temperatures above 43ºC, possibly setting a new extreme heat record in a town already world famous for its relentless summer temperatures. Marble Bar made international headlines in...

Could we see a tropical cyclone this week?

  Australia’s northern tropics are awakening, with growing potential for tropical cyclone development later this week.  The image below shows the cloud and thunderstorms impacting northern Australia on Wednesday morning.   Image: Himawarri-9 satellite image at 11:20am on Wednesday,...

La Nina more likely than El Nino or neutral conditions by spring this year

It was only last year that we came out of a 3-year La Niña but there is a significant chance that the Pacific Ocean returns to a La Niña state by spring this year, increasing the chances of wet...

Extreme fire danger and heatwave warnings in WA

  Scorching heat is set to impact WA this week, with extreme heatwave and fire weather warnings in place for several districts in the state.  The satellite image below shows clear skies over most of WA on Monday morning,...

Record rain causes major flooding in Victoria

A band of heavy rain and thunderstorms being fuelled by tropical moisture has caused record-breaking rain and flooding in parts of Victoria. A broad low pressure trough drawing moisture-laden air towards an upper-level low pressure system has produced widespread...

Australia’s 5th warmest year on record based on daytime heat

Australia’s mean maximum temperature in 2023 was 1.34ºC warmer than the 30-year period ending in 1990, making it the country’s 5th warmest year on record. The combined warming effects of El Niño, a positive Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) and...

Latest news

Satisfy your weather obsession with these news headlines from around the nation, and the world.

Australia’s 2026-27 Tropical Cyclone Season: Late Start, Real Risk

Australia’s tropical cyclone season is officially underway, but we may not see much activity for few months yet.  The season runs from November to April, and for mining operators and businesses across northern Australia, 2026-27 is shaping up to be a season where the headline numbers and the real risk may not line up.  On […]

Positive IOD declared: Not a typical dry signal for Australia

A positive Indian Ocean Dipole is underway, but this one is unlikely to deliver the textbook dry spring and summer that businesses have come to expect from the pattern.  The Bureau of Meteorology officially declared a positive IOD on Tuesday, October 27, which typically like El Niño can cause drier and warmer conditions over parts of […]

Signs of a positive Indian Ocean Dipole, but it may not follow the textbook

Waters off Indonesia have cooled in recent weeks, an indication that a positive Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) event could be developing. It’s an important climate driver for Australia, and it could shape rainfall and temperatures heading into summer, with flow-on effects for farmers, energy and other industries.  What is the Indian Ocean Dipole?  The IOD […]

1.3 million lightning strikes and a record September downpour: the storms testing WA’s Goldfields

Leonora, WA, had its wettest September day on record earlier this month. Three weeks later, more than 1.3 million lightning pulses were detected within 800 km of the town in 48 hours. Why is a stalled trough delivering storms to mining country, and what it could mean for operations?  The DTN Total Lightning Network detected […]