Australia’s first tropical cyclone of the season
Tropical Cyclone Paddy has just developed near Christmas Island, becoming the first named cyclone in Australia’s 2021/22 tropical cyclone season. An unassuming low pressure system that had been spinning away near Christmas Island over the weekend quickly gained strength on Monday morning. By 11am AWST,...
Another wet, cloudy and stormy week for the NEM
More heavy rain is on the horizon for already saturated areas in central and eastern Australia this week, with flooding and severe thunderstorms likely. Large areas of central and eastern Australia have already seen 2 to 4 times their average November rainfall and...
Low pressure system to bring heavy rainfall, strong winds and severe thunderstorms to the southeast
Heavy rainfall, strong winds and severe thunderstorms are all on the cards for parts of SA, VIC, TAS and NSW as a low-pressure trough moves over southeastern Australia. On Saturday the trough will generate rain and storms across southeastern Australia. Daily rainfall totals are expected to reach 20-30mm in...
Where is La Niña?
Australia has been under a La Niña Alert for more than a month and the U.S. officially declared La Niña a month ago. So, why hasn’t the Bureau of Meteorology officially declared La Niña yet? The Pacific Ocean has been showing signs...
How dangerous is lightning at an airport?
Thunderstorms and the lightning they produce are one of the world’s most dangerous weather phenomena. Each year in Australia there are on average five to ten deaths caused by lightning strikes and over 100 people are gravely injured a year. ...
Brace yourselves- A multi-day severe thunderstorm and heavy rain event to hit eastern Australia
Eastern Australia has been hit by widespread storms, heavy rain and strong winds across parts of QLD, NSW and eastern VIC on Wednesday. A low-pressure system and a broad inland trough in combination with an extremely humid airmass are behind the heavy rain and thunderstorms on the forecast each day until the weekend. The areas of...
Wet week for most of Australia, with flooding likely
Substantial rain will fall over part of every Australian state and territory this week, with flooding and severe thunderstorms likely in several states. A large mass of humid air will interact with two transient low pressure system and...
Australia’s tropical cyclone season starts next week, so what’s in store for us this season?
The official tropical cyclone season runs for six months, from November through to April. This is the time of year when conditions are most suitable for cyclones to develop near northern Australia. Tropical cyclones are intense low-pressure systems that draw their energy from warm tropical waters, typically when the sea surface temperature...
Cool, wet and windy weather impacting the WEM
A strong cold front passing through WA today will cause temperatures to plummet across southwestern WA today. The front will also elevate winds, and bring large surf to the western coastline during the next few days. The satellite...
