Sea surface temperatures in the Indian Ocean suggest that a negative phase of the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) may be emerging, which could influence Australian weather patterns in the coming months. What is the Indian Ocean Dipole? The IOD is an index that measures the difference in sea surface temperatures across the tropical Indian Ocean. […]
Australia will endure a dynamic mix of extreme weather this week, with intense thunderstorms generating destructive winds in multiple states and record-challenging heat in the outback. Thunderstorms Thunderstorms will occur over part of Australia every day this week as a series of troughs and low pressure systems pass over the country, with a particularly nasty […]
An unseasonably hot airmass will linger across parts of southern Australia next week, with temperatures set to reach the 40s across Australia’s interior and the low 30s in some capital cities. Heat has been building over northern Australia during the opening weeks of spring, with severe heatwave conditions impacting those living in the north during the […]
Severe thunderstorms have formed over parts of Qld and NSW this afternoon, with reports of hail around 7cm in diameter, intense rainfall and flooding and damaging winds. The combination of a surface and upper-level trough and moisture-laden easterly winds are triggering severe thunderstorms across southeastern Qld and northeastern NSW. The images below show the severe thunderstorms […]
The number of tropical cyclones in the Australian region is expected to be close to the long-term average in the official season which runs from the start of November to the end of April, according to the Bureau of Meteorology. But the BoM cautions that the likelihood of severe tropical cyclones of Category 3, 4, […]
A quintessentially spring-like week is upon Australia, with a contrasting mix of thunderstorms in Queensland and Western Australia, cold and snow in Tasmania, heat in the Northern Territory and rain possibly developing in the southeast. Storms in Queensland and NSW A thunderstorm outbreak will be ramping up over eastern Qld and northeast NSW, with a […]
The system that triggered over 600 thousand lightning strikes and damaging winds across WA yesterday is moving east across SA on Thursday morning. A low pressure system and associated low pressure trough and cold front brought a dangerous storm day to WA yesterday. Total Lightning Network detected 605,166 lightning strikes on Wednesday, October 2, as […]
A deep low pressure system and associated front and trough will generate widespread damaging winds and locally destructive wind gusts across parts of southern WA today, with the potential for severe thunderstorms to develop during the afternoon. The cold front crossed the coast earlier this morning causing temperatures to plummet and delivering widespread rainfall totals […]
Parts of northwest WA saw the warmest minimum temperatures and highest rainfall on record in September, with a mean of nearly 6°C above average recorded at Port Hedland. The map below shows a large portion of the state saw well above average nighttime temperatures in September, except for parts of the southeast which saw […]
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 […]
