Earlier this year destructive thunderstorms and winds equivalent to a category two cyclone lashed Victoria, bending towers and toppling trees and poles. So, how can thunderstorms damage energy infrastructure, and are these events getting worse? This event occurred during mid-February 2024, when a strong cold front generated severe thunderstorms and localised wind gusts of 130km/h […]
A stubborn area of high pressure has been entrenched to the south of Australia over the last few weeks, causing a lengthy run of repetitive weather across the country. Weather systems in Earth’s mid-latitudes typically move from west to east. This includes the high and low pressure systems, cold fronts and low pressure troughs that […]
The NSW coast can expect another week of rain as eastern Australia remains stuck in a stagnant pattern of wet and stormy weather. A stubborn high pressure system centred to the south of Australia has been driving moisture-laden winds into eastern Australia over the past week. This wet weather pattern is expected to linger for […]
Parched areas of southwest WA have finally seen some rain this week, with Wandering recording its highest May rainfall in more than 82 years and the most rainfall the town has seen in 13 months. The rain event began on Wednesday, with Bunbury recording a 2-day total of 55 mm to 9am on Friday, […]
A three-day soaking has begun in NSW, with rain and thunderstorms expected to spread across most of the state over the next 72 hours. An upper-level cut-off low will pass over NSW from west to east between Friday and Sunday. As this upper low crosses NSW, it will interact with moisture-laden air to produce widespread […]
Signs are pointing to the second consecutive positive Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) developing in the next few months. However, May is shaping up to be a time to make-or-break this event. What is a positive IOD? The IOD is a coupled ocean-atmosphere climate driver that changes the circulation patterns over the Indian Ocean. A positive […]
Perth just registered its sunniest and driest October-to-April period on record despite a welcome burst of rain on Tuesday. Summer and the surrounding months are typically the sunniest and driest time of year in Perth as cold fronts shift further south and rain-shielding high pressure systems become the dominant synoptic feature over southwestern Australia. […]
It’s been one of those days when Australia’s two largest cities could hardly have been more different in terms of weather. Never mind the tedious old arguments about the food, coffee, culture, sport, traffic, scenery and the rest of it in the two cities. On this autumn Wednesday, Melbourne feels like winter while Sydney feels […]
Snow has fallen in Tasmania, while Melbourne has experienced a dramatic temperature drop as a cold front whipped through Tasmania and southern Victoria overnight. This was the Wednesday morning scene on the slopes of Ben Lomond, Tasmania’s only commercial ski resort, about an hour out of Launceston. Not enough snow for skiing, but the cafe […]
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 […]
