It’s been a very active thunderstorm week in the Pilbara and Gascoyne region, with thousands of lightning strikes detected in the region. The thunderstorms were triggered by a near-stationary trough sitting along WA’s west coast, paired with an unstable airmass and unseasonably warm conditions. The images below show the lightning strikes (pink), cloud and rain […]
The mercury is rising in WA over the coming days with parts of the Pilbara and Kimberley are forecast to see temperatures reach at least 36°C for five consecutive days. This prolonged period of spring warmth is being caused by a stubborn high pressure system sitting over the Bight for the rest of the week […]
This spring is shaping up to be an unusually warm and stormy season for Australia, with some parts of the country also likely to see an increased risk of fires. Australia has entered spring off the back of its warmest August and second warmest winter on record. The end of winter was also very dry […]
Australia’s warmest August on record has laid the foundations for an increased risk of fires in multiple states and territories this spring. According to the latest Australian Seasonal Bushfire Outlook, which was released on Wednesday, large areas of Australia will have an increased risk of fires this spring. The red shading on the map below […]
Total Fire Bans (TFBs) have been issued for Greater Sydney and the Illawarra in NSW, a month ahead of the typical start to the fire season. Gale force winds are once again blowing across eastern Australia ahead of a cold front; the third such system in the last seven days after damaging winds on both […]
The heaviest August rain in almost half a century has fallen in a town to the north of Perth on Wednesday morning, as a very unstable airmass moved across the region. A coastal trough extending from offshore Two Rocks to Bullsbrook and a cold front sweeping across southern WA triggered severe thunderstorms on Wednesday morning. The […]
Darwin just registered its wettest July in 23 years, although it’s unlikely a single umbrella was raised throughout the month. July marks the middle of the NT’s dry season, which runs from May to September and typically includes periods of weeks to months without any rainfall in Darwin. This long spell of low rainfall occurs […]
Parts of the Pilbara, Kimberley, WA’s interior, and inland SA are about to see a prolonged period of wet weather, as an upper-level trough moves over the region. The image below shows the upper-level trough over the Pilbara region on Friday night, which will slowly progress further east into central Australia on the weekend. Images: […]
Another showery night in Perth has delivered enough rain to make this Perth’s first wetter-than-average month in more than one year. The animation below shows showers streaming over Perth and other areas of southwestern Australia late on Thursday. This wet weather was caused by persistent onshore winds along the west coast of WA, and the […]
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 […]
