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 […]
After narrowly avoiding the monsoon and ex-Tropical Cyclone Ellie, heat and thunderstorms are returning to the Pilbara. The build-up refers to the time between monsoon onsets, and features building heat, humidity and thunderstorms, particularly in the afternoon. The monsoon last arrived just before Christmas, heralded by the arrival of Tropical Cyclone Ellie, and lingered […]
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 […]
