On Saturday, Indonesia’s most active volcano, Mount Merapi, erupted, sending huge plumes of ash into the sky. It serves as a large-scale reminder of how ash and dust from explosions, including in mining and demolition, can travel and spread. Mount Merapi erupted at 5am UTC (1pm WST) on Saturday afternoon. Most notable was a […]
A surge of tropical moisture will produce heavy rain and thunderstorms in parts of northwest and central Queensland during the next several days, likely causing flooding and road closures in parts of the state. A slow-moving tropical low pressure system will help drag copious moisture across Qld from the northwest in the coming days. The […]
Air temperatures are expected to reach into the forties in multiple states over the weekend. What can the temperature get to in a typical open cut mine? The temperatures we commonly report here at Weatherzone are the official air temperature readings for Bureau of Meteorology sites. The thermometers used are housed in special Stevenson […]
Several large fires continue to burn across southern Qld today, creating smoke plumes so large that they can be seen by satellites sitting more than 35,000 km above Earth’s surface. A wet spring followed by an unusually dry start to summer has caused a build-up of dry vegetation over the southeast inland of Qld […]
The Madden-Julian Oscillation and the monsoon are starting their second approach of the season towards Australia, along with their elevated risk of tropical cyclone development. The Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) is an eastward moving pulse of tropical activity that travels the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It affects Australia the greatest between November and April, but […]
Dangerous fire weather is on its way for the eastern states from today (Wednesday) through to at least Saturday, as winds strengthen ahead of an approaching cold front. This will not be your classic super hot, 40-degree type fire weather, however two factors will nonetheless elevate the fire risk: WIND: Gusty westerly winds of around […]
Port Hedland received a quick deluge on Sunday afternoon after a pair of thunderstorms converged over the region. Port Hedland picked up 45mm in the rain gauge, including 11mm in 10 minutes at about 2:30pm WST on Sunday afternoon. This was its heaviest January rain in 9 years, and its wettest day in 8 […]
A tropical cyclone is no longer forecast to hit the region, but tropical moisture will still lead to another thunderstorm outbreak over the coming week in the Pilbara. After a slow and slightly delayed start to the wet season, thunderstorms have since been a regular feature over the Pilbara region over the last 11 […]
A tropical cyclone looks to form during the week and should make landfall over the Western Australian coast this weekend. A weak tropical low is currently just north of the Top End and is tracking to the west. While it will remain weak over the next few days, the monsoon is bringing rain and […]
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, […]
