Over 75,000 customers across southeast Queensland remain without power on Tuesday, after a peak of around 161,000 following the relatively brief, but intense severe thunderstorms complex that crossed the region on Monday afternoon. Damage to power utility networks and rescue efforts for residents was worse than those inflicted by Cyclone Alfred in March for some […]
The downstream influence of Severe Tropical Cyclone Fina caused intense inland heat to build and be drawn into eastern Australia, causing energy demand to soar in NSW and Queensland. Severe Tropical Cyclone Fina crossed the northeast Kimberley coast in WA late on Monday, November 24, 2025, but downstream influences from the system will be felt […]
Tropical Cyclone Fina has turned towards the Northern Territory coast and is expected to make landfall over the Top End on Friday, November 21, 2025. The system could then regain strength over the warm Van Diemen Gulf, before passing close to Darwin on the weekend. The last tropical cyclone to directly impact Darwin was Tropical […]
A tropical low currently developing over the Timor Sea has a high chance of becoming a tropical cyclone later this week, with a possibility of landfall somewhere in the Northern Territory or Western Australia. Key industries could be impacted including Ports, Mining, Transport, and Agriculture. The satellite images below show cloud circulating around the developing […]
Sea surface temperatures exceeding 31°C off the coast of northern Australia and an active phase of the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) are increasing the likelihood of early-season tropical cyclone activity, with hints of the season’s first tropical cyclone coming as early as next week. Tropical cyclones require sea surface temperature of 26.5°C or warmer to develop, […]
The 2025-26 tropical cyclone season has begun with abnormally warm oceans surrounding northern Australia, signalling an increased risk for severe tropical cyclones in the coming months. The Australian tropical cyclone season runs from November 1 to April 30. During this six-month period, there are usually about 9 to 10 tropical cyclones in the Australian region, […]
A barrage of thunderstorms battered large areas of eastern and northern Australia over the past week, producing close to 8 million lightning pulses across the country and more than 4 million over Queensland alone. DTN’s Total Lightning Network (TLN) detected around 7.79 million lightning pulses above Australia last week. This lightning was observed over every […]
The Australian region is primed for severe tropical cyclones this season, despite an ongoing trend of reduced tropical cyclone activity over Australian waters in recent decades. Australia’s tropical cyclone season officially runs from the start of November to the end of April. During this six-month period, the Australian region usually sees around 9 to 10 […]
Dynamic springtime weather with widespread severe thunderstorms, heatwave conditions and elevated fire danger affect many Australian industries, including mining, emergency services and transport. Image: Widespread thunderstorms across eastern WA, and bushfire smoke across northern Queensland and the eastern NT on Thursday, October 23, 2025. Scattered to widespread severe thunderstorms spread east As seen in the […]
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, […]
