Another northwest cloud band has brought significant rain to parts of the southwest during the last 24 hours, with more to come. The largest totals southwest WA has seen in the 24 hours leading up to 9am on Wednesday, June 12 were; Maxon Farm recorded 31mm Lancelin (defence) saw 19.2mm fall 14.8mm fell at […]
Heavy rainfall, severe thunderstorms and damaging winds will hit parts of WA this weekend as another strong cold front sweeps over the state. Earlier this week, a cold front and northwest cloud band provided some much-needed rainfall to some drought-stricken parts of WA, with 50 to 100mm of rain falling in parts of the southwest […]
A series of cold fronts will deliver much-needed rain to southwestern Australia this week, easing a drought that has broken records over the past seven months. The animation below shows cloud streaming over WA on Tuesday morning ahead of an approaching cold front. This is the first in a series of cold fronts and low […]
There’s a feature on this week’s weather charts which we haven’t seen for many months in Australia and which is a sign that winter is almost upon us: a northwest cloudband. Northwest cloudbands are vast layers of cloud that flow over Australia from the northwest. Once fully developed, the cloudband stretches across the country like […]
A series of cold fronts are setting their sights on southern WA in the next 10 days, bringing fierce winds, showers, thunderstorms and cooler temperatures. The stubborn high-pressure system that has sat over the Bight for weeks, preventing cold fronts from making it to WA, will finally move east this week. This will cause an […]
The BoM has officially placed Australia on a La Niña watch, less than a month after El Niño was officially declared over. “There are some early signs that a La Niña might form in the Pacific Ocean later in 2024,” the BoM reported in its May 14 update. “As a result, the Bureau’s ENSO [El […]
Days of rain and thunder are on the cards for some western and central parts of WA, with the potential for some decent falls in the region. The map below shows showers and thunderstorms approaching the Gascoyne and Upper West districts on Monday morning. Image: Himawari-9 satellite image combined with Weatherzone radar and lightning data, […]
Total Lightning Network captured over 32 thousand lightning strikes in the Kalgoorlie region on Sunday and Monday, with more rainfall to come at the end of this week for the state’s southwest. The image below shows a 500km line of thunderstorms stretching between Leinster and Salmon Gums on Monday morning as the sun rises. Image: Himawari-9 […]
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, […]
El Niño–favourable conditions are gathering pace across the tropical Pacific, with key ocean indicators approaching threshold levels and early atmospheric responses emerging. While uncertainty remains around final El Niño strength, historical analogues show that even weak events can generate widespread impacts, including reduced rainfall, warmer daytime temperatures, increased frost risk, elevated fire danger, reduced tropical cyclone activity, and more. Industries including […]
Australia has just experienced a highly impactful tropical cyclone season, with more than 60% of systems reaching severe intensity, causing widespread disruption and damage to communities and multiple industries across northern Australia. The 2025–26 Australian tropical cyclone season officially ran from 1 November 2025 to 30 April 2026. During this six-month period, Australia saw 11 tropical cyclones, with nine […]
There are signs that a very strong, or ‘super’ El Niño could develop in the tropical Pacific Ocean later this year. So, what does this mean for Australia’s weather during the second half of 2026? El Niño on the horizon The tropical Pacific Ocean is currently in a neutral state, meaning neither El Niño nor […]
Intense heat from bushfires during elevated fire danger days can trigger fire-induced pyrocumulonimbus thunderstorms that ignite additional fires. In early January 2026, an extreme heatwave sweeping over southeastern Australia brought catastrophic fire danger to Victoria. Intensely hot bush and grass fires spread erratically and quickly in hot, dry and gusty winds, with pyrocumulonimbus generating lightning, […]
