The Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) index has dropped below -0.4°C – the critical threshold for a negative IOD event if sustained. Could Australia see its first negative IOD event since 2022? What is the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD)? The IOD is a measure of the difference in Sea Surface Temperatures (SST) across the equatorial Indian […]
A cold Southern Ocean air mass will spread across Australia this week, causing a run of wintry days and nights for much of the country before possibly culminating in heavy rain along the east coast. The image below shows a tongue of cold air extending from the Southern Ocean towards southwestern Australia on Monday. This […]
Significant rain has fallen across the southwest of WA, with Perth recording 41mm in the 24 hours to 9am Monday, making it the city’s wettest day in just over a year. This latest soaking means that Perth has now exceeded its average monthly rainfall, with 174.2mm in the gauge for July 2025 to date, compared […]
A strong cold front crossing WA is drawing a deep feed of tropical moisture and rainfall across nearly the whole state, impacting mining hubs. Well before dawn on Thursday, a quick but intense burst of rain crossed over Port Hedland, delivering 12mm in the 30 minutes to just after 3am. Across the whole night, the […]
A massive northwest cloudband is starting to spread rain across about 80 percent of Australia, including much-needed falls in drought-affected areas of southern Australia. A cut-off low pressure system will interact with a stream of tropical moisture over the next four to five days, producing one of the biggest rainbands Australia has seen in recent […]
The southwestern tip of Western Australia is the latest corner of the country to see exceptionally heavy winter rainfall, with 24-hour totals topping 100mm at some locations, and over 250,000 lightning strikes causing costly shutdown procedures. Storms and heavy downpours pelted much of the South West Land Division on Wednesday as a cold front and […]
Signals of a negative Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) developing in the coming months could bring increased risk of heavy rainfall, severe thunderstorms and tropical cyclones for the mining sector. Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) The IOD is a measure of the difference in sea surface temperatures across the equatorial Indian Ocean. A negative IOD occurs when […]
Weather such as low cloud, fog, gusty winds, dispersion of dust, smoke and other pollutants, and blast sound shockwaves can all be the result of inversions and have significant impacts on safe and responsible mining operations. What is a temperature inversion? In the troposphere, the atmosphere layer closest to the ground and where most of […]
Gusty winds and heavy rain are impacting parts of Vietnam and southern China as the first tropical storm of the season, named Wutip, closes in on Hainan Island. The satellite loop below shows Tropical Storm Wutip, which translates to “butterfly” in Cantonese, spinning to the east of Da Nang, Vietnam. Video: Satellite loop of Tropical […]
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 […]
