Sydney just experienced its wettest January to August period in 164 years of records, with the city also obliterating a long-standing record for the shortest time to amass two metres rainfall in a single year. The weather station at Sydney Observatory Hill, located next to the iconic Harbour Bridge, registered 2010.6 mm of rain […]
A rare late-winter soaking has swept across outback QLD during the last 24 hours, with some places picking up their heaviest August rain in more than 100 years. The animation below shows rain, thunderstorms and thick cloud spreading over QLD on Monday into Tuesday morning. This rain-bearing cloudband was caused by tropical moisture feeding […]
New data has revealed that tropical cyclone numbers have been declining in the Australian region in recent decades, including both severe and non-severe tropical cyclones. The Bureau of Meteorology’s tropical cyclone database has reliable historical records of every tropical cyclone in the Australian region since the 1970’s. Over this time, there has been a noticeable […]
Australia is a stormy country, with lightning striking part of every state and territory each year. But some parts of the country are far stormier than others. So, where is the most lightning-prone part of Australia? Before looking at WHERE lightning occurs in Australia, it’s important to know HOW lightning occurs. Thunderstorms require three […]
A confluence of wet-phase climate drivers will reduce the risk of bushfires across large areas of Australia this spring, although grassfires could still be prolific in some parts of the country. The Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council (AFAC) has today released Australia’s official Seasonal Bushfire Outlook for spring. The outlook brings together […]
Traffic came to a standstill in the snow-covered Blue Mountains on Wednesday morning as black ice closed sections of the Great Western Highway and Bells Line of Road. A large pool of very cold air with polar origins spread across southeastern Australia during the last 48 hours. As this frigid air mass reached central […]
A cold air mass spreading over southeastern Australia is causing huge temperature contrasts between some of Australia largest capital cities today. A pool of air that originated near Antarctica has been spreading over Australia’s southern and southeastern states during the last couple of days in the wake of a strong cold front. Image: Modelled […]
New observations from the tropical Pacific Ocean suggest that a La Niña pattern is gaining strength as we enter the final weeks of winter. The Niño-3.4 index measures the sea surface temperature anomaly inside a defined area of the central equatorial Pacific Ocean. According to the Bureau of Meteorology, sustained Niño-3.4 values of around -0.8ºC […]
A strong cold front crossing southeastern Australia will bring damaging winds, heavy rain and the lowest snow so far this year during the next two days. The satellite image below shows a cold front passing over SA, VIC and TAS late on Monday morning, with a large cold air mass in its wake. Image: […]
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 […]
