The tap across northern Australia is turning on this week, with daily thunderstorms and rain set to break the dry season for large areas. Moisture laden air feeding into an area of low pressure across the northern tropics is behind the stormy and steamy week. The map below shows the accumulated weekly rainfall predicted […]
One look at the map of rain predicted over Australia this week shows that part of every state and territory will see some wet weather during the next 7 days, with a few areas in line for a soaking. Image: Forecast accumulated precipitation between Monday and Sunday this week, according to the ECMWF-HRES model. […]
A lone lightning strike from a tiny storm on Friday was all it took to start an intense blaze near Serpentine on Friday, serving as a reminder as to the danger thunderstorms can pose. Image: A single cloud-to-ground lightning strike (circled in red) recorded on Friday afternoon near Serpentine Main Dam from the Total Lightning […]
It was dry across Australia in October, but Western Australia did it tougher than the rest, with its driest October on record. Nationally, it was Australia’s 5th-driest October since national records began to be kept in 1900. It was also the 5th-driest October in South Australia, the 6th-driest in the Northern Territory, and the […]
Onslow, a coastal town in Western Australia’s Pilbara region with a population of around 900, holds half of a significant Australian heat record – equalling Australia’s highest recorded temperature when the mercury reached a searing 50.7°C in January 2022. On average, Onslow is not quite as hot as several other WA towns such as Marble […]
Firefighters in Qld and NSW will continue to face challenging conditions over the next two days amid another burst of hot, dry and windy weather. A cold front crossing southeastern Australia on Monday and Tuesday will cause a tongue of hot and dry air to sweep across NSW and Qld. This heat will be […]
We all know that Darwin experiences an extended dry season through the middle months of the year, but the 2023 dry season was a lot drier than most. Indeed, Darwin received a grand total of no rainfall in this year’s dry season, which officially runs from May through September according to the BoM. Darwin […]
There were “striking” scenes in the skies above the southwest of Western Australia on Sunday afternoon, as a quarter of a million lightning strikes sparked a spectacular sky show. The awesome natural fireworks display was caused by a trough moving through the area, with significantly cooler air behind the warm airmass east of the […]
The first tropical cyclone to form near the Australian region this season is about to unleash a burst of severe weather in Vanuatu. Tropical Cyclone Lola formed to the northeast of Vanuatu on Sunday. As it developed outside the eastern boundary of Australia’s area of responsibility, Lola was named by the Fiji Meteorological Service. Lola […]
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, […]
