Globally, July 2023 was the hottest of any month on record, surpassing the 1850-1900 temperature average by 1.5 degrees celsius. The summer heat has gripped parts of Europe and North America, igniting devastating wildfires. Further to this, Antarctic Sea ice is at a historic winter low, which cannot be easily explained by natural cycles or […]
Do the Australian Alps – as in the mountains of our southeast mainland – really get more snow in winter than the Swiss Alps? It’s one of the oldest myths in Australian weather-related folklore, and it reared its head again last weekend, when New South Wales premier Chris Minns took to social media after heavy […]
Satellites have spotted lava spilling down the side of Big Ben, one of only two active volcanoes located on Australian territory. The image below shows a clear view of Heard Island captured by a Sentinel-2 satellite on May 25, 2023. The stunning picture – a composite of visible and infrared satellite images – shows lava […]
Waves measuring more than 14 metres in height have been observed off the NSW coast today as a powerful low pressure system churns the Tasman Sea. A mass of cold polar air passing over the Tasman Sea caused a dynamic low pressure system to develop near the NSW coast on Sunday and gain strength into […]
One of the heaviest snowfalls of the 2022 Australian snow season fell over the weekend across parts the NSW and Victorian Alps, which should contribute to healthy hydropower lake levels this spring. It’s not unusual to see heavy September snowfalls in the Australian Alps. Indeed, peak season depth has been recorded more frequently in September […]
The Bureau of Meteorology has today declared the return of La Niña for a third consecutive season, solidifying the prospect of above-average rain and flooding in parts of Australia during the next few months. Back in June this year, the Bureau declared the end of the 2021/22 La Niña event that had underpinned widespread rain […]
Spring is a notoriously windy season but whether southern Australia is calmer or windier than usual comes down to the Southern Annular Mode. So, what is the Southern Annular Mode? The SAM is simply an index that’s used to monitor the position of a belt of westerly winds that flow from west to east […]
This week’s weather will be a perfect example of how a negative Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) affects Australia, with a thick northwest cloudband causing widespread rain and flooding. The satellite image below shows a northwest cloudband extending over Australia on Wednesday, August 10. This northwest cloudband is forming as upper-level winds transport moisture-laden air […]
Residents of dozens of suburbs in Sydney’s greater west have been told to evacuate as three major rivers burst their banks in what emergency services are describing as a “life-threatening” flood emergency. The heaviest rain has eased off to a degree on Monday morning in Sydney, however rain is still steadily falling in and […]
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 […]
