Australian agricultural, forestry and fire emergency agencies and industries that were hoping for a wetter than average spring have been left disappointed by a lacklustre start to the season, despite the emergence of a strong negative Indian Ocean Dipole in recent weeks. Official rainfall outlooks at the end of August were pointing to a good […]
A huge northwest cloudband stretching from Indonesia to waters east of New Zealand has delivered the heaviest October rainfall on record to the WA gold mining city of Kalgoorlie. Extending at least 8000km, the cloudband has brought rain over the past couple of days not just to WA, but all the way east to large […]
Severe thunderstorms brought large hail and heavy rain to southeast Queensland’s Wide Bay and Burnett on Thursday, October 2, 2025 – impacting businesses and insurance claims. Clear skies at midday It’s 12pm on an early October Thursday and it’s warm and sunny with barely a cloud in the sky and a light seabreeze coming from […]
Australia’s 2025-26 tropical cyclone season is almost here and the names that will be used for cyclones throughout the season have been locked in. The Australian tropical cyclone season runs from the beginning of November to the end of April. During this six-month period, we usually see around 9-11 tropical cyclones in the Australian region, […]
Despite a brief cool spell early in the month which included Sydney’s wettest September day in 146 years, the harbour city has recorded its second-warmest September since records were first kept in 1858. In September 2025: Sydney’s average maximum was 23.5°C, which was around 3.3°C above the long-term average of 20.2°C. Sydney’s average minimum was […]
Heavy rain and cooler temperatures that impact Indian industries, businesses and communities during the southwest monsoon have begun withdrawing from the Indian sub-continent. The Indian Southwest Monsoon rainfall to date The graph below shows a healthy overall cumulative rainfall across India so far this wet season – currently running about 7% more than normal. Image: […]
The southern hemisphere’s polar vortex is weakening in response to a rare episode of stratospheric warming above Antarctica, a phenomenon that could affect weather patterns across Australia in the coming weeks. What is the polar vortex? The term polar vortex refers to a large rotating column of cold air surrounded by powerful winds, which develops […]
Hot and windy weather are bringing extreme fire danger near Darwin on Wednesday, just days after the city saw its first rain in four months. Prior to last weekend, Darwin had not seen any rain since May. This 115 day dry spell came to an end when rain started pouring into the gauge on Sunday […]
For four months in a row, Perth has exceeded its average monthly rainfall – the first time this has happened in the traditionally wet winter and spring period since 2007. Perth reached its September average of 79.3mm during light showers on Tuesday and Wednesday. Another 13.2mm of rain then fell in the 24 hours to […]
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, […]
