A pool of unusually cold water has appeared at the surface of the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean, hinting that the foundations of a La Niña event may be lurking beneath the surface. The Pacific Ocean has been in an El Niño phase for the last 6 to 8 months. An El Niño is characterised by […]
Large areas of Australia saw an above average number of lightning days this summer, with Melbourne, Canberra and Brisbane all seeing 5 to 6 extra storm days during the season. Australia always sees lots of lightning during summer as hot air, abundant moisture and ample atmospheric instability combine to create ideal conditions for thunderstorms. The […]
Perth just had its second hottest summer on record based on daytime temperatures, capping off the season with a remarkably warm February featuring a record-breaking number of 40°C days. The average maximum temperature in Perth this summer was 32.6ºC. This is roughly 1.7°C above the long-term average and the city’s 2nd highest summer maximum temperature […]
Sydney has ended its third warmest summer on record with a warm and muggy day featuring afternoon thunderstorms – providing a fitting end to what was an unusually sweaty season for the NSW capital city. Sydney’s mean temperature this summer will come in at around 24.1ºC, which is just over 2ºC above the long-term […]
Temperatures reached close to 50 degrees over parts of WA’s Gascoyne and Central West, setting new town records over the region, and ranking in some of Australia’s hottest temperatures ever recorded. The Gascoyne region of Western Australia spans over 135,000 square kilometres (about double that of Tasmania), yet only has a total of 6 weather […]
The Bureau of Meteorology has today declared the end of the persistent positive Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) event, which contributed to the driest three-month period on record in 2023. The IOD is an index that measures the difference in sea surface temperature anomalies between the western and eastern sides of the tropical Indian Oceans. The […]
Australia just had its third-warmest and ninth-wettest January on record, which is a remarkable combination. Ordinarily, you would not expect both above-average temperatures and above-average rainfall to go hand in hand. Simply put, that’s because clouds block direct sunlight, preventing warming. For example, Australia’s hottest January on record fell in a scorching, sunny summer. That […]
It hasn’t really felt like summer in Melbourne so far in the summer of 2023/24. The December average maximum temperature was 23.8°C, which is almost a degree below the long-term monthly average of 24.7°C The January average maximum to date is 25.4°C, which is half a degree below the long-term monthly average of 25.9°C While […]
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 well-known global climate driver that promotes below average rain and above average daytime temperatures in Australia, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
