Prosper in a dynamic world
Search

Australia’s mining hub powers ahead after Zelia

Destructive winds, the heaviest rain in decades forced major port, rail, and mining operations to shut down in the Pilbara, though many have resumed despite ongoing major flooding and highway closures.  Severe Tropical Cyclone Zelia made landfall as a category four system near the De Grey River mouth last Friday afternoon. Despite Port Hedland missing […]

Australia’s mining hub bracing for category 5 tropical cyclone

Severe Tropical Cyclone Zelia is intensifying rapidly to the north of Western Australia and is expected to make landfall as a destructive category 5 system on Friday, impacting mining, port and offshore oil and gas operations in the region. While Zelia only became a tropical cyclone on Wednesday morning, the system has intensified rapidly over […]

Tropical Cyclone Zelia forms near Western Australia – here’s what businesses can expect

A tropical cyclone has formed to the north of WA and is expected to become a severe tropical cyclone before making landfall later this week, potentially impacting mining, port and offshore oil and gas operations in the region. Tropical Cyclone Zelia formed early on Wednesday morning, becoming the 5th system to be named inside Australia’s […]

Severe tropical cyclone threat looms for mining and ports in WA

A severe tropical cyclone could make landfall in northern WA, impacting mining, port and offshore oil and gas operations in the region. At 8am AWST on Tuesday, a tropical low was spinning off the northern coast of WA, roughly 295 km to the northwest of Broome. This developing low pressure system is causing large pulses […]

Pilbara mining and port operations could be impacted by a cyclone this week

A developing tropical low off Australia’s northwest coast has a high chance of becoming a tropical cyclone by the middle of this week, possibly as early as Tuesday. The animation below shows a large mass of convective clouds to the north of WA on Monday morning, revealing the location of the developing tropical low. Image: […]

Heavy rain, storms and cyclone risk threaten Australian mining as monsoon approaches

Darwin’s latest monsoon on record is finally arriving on Friday, bringing heavy rain, thunderstorms with it and a higher risk of tropical cyclone development in the next week or so. The monsoon refers to the seasonal reversal of the wind pattern over northern Australia, where the dry east to southeasterly winds that dominate for much […]

Severe thunderstorms impacting NSW transport and mining sectors

Dangerous thunderstorms are developing across parts of NSW this Wednesday afternoon, including the Hunter valley a busy mining hub in NSW. A severe thunderstorm warning for heavy rainfall, damaging winds and large has been issued for parts of the Blue Mountains, Hunter and Southern Tablelands as of 1pm on Wednesday. This included a warning for […]

Two severe tropical cyclones in Australian region impacting shipping

Two tropical cyclones have formed over the Indian Ocean to the northwest of Australia in the past 48 hours, with 75% of Australia’s cyclones so far this season becoming severe.  The satellite image below shows that an eye has developed in both cyclones, with cloud swirling around it in a clockwise direction as the sun rises […]

Businesses across northern Australia on high alert as cyclone risk looms

A tropical cyclone could form by early next week, with monsoon winds and tropical lows triggering the wet season and potentially impacting northern Australian businesses. The animation below shows widespread cloud around northern Australia on Friday. Within these vast areas of cloud are several areas of low pressure that have the potential to deepen 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 […]