Thunderstorms will develop over large areas of Australia every day this week and likely continue into next week as the country becomes locked into a relentless stormy weather pattern through the middle of November.
Thunderstorms require three key ingredients to form:
- Moisture in the atmosphere
- An unstable atmosphere
- A lifting mechanism that causes air to start rising away from the surface
These three ingredients will be available in abundance over Australia this week, leading to lots of lightning and thunder. Abnormally warm seas surrounding Australia will help to pump warm and humid air into the atmosphere, while numerous low pressure troughs, cold fronts and mountain ranges will act as triggers for storms.
Where will storms occur this week?
Early in the week, showers and thunderstorms will target central, eastern, southern and southeastern Australia on Monday and Tuesday. Severe thunderstorms are likely in parts of NSW and Qld on both days and are also possible in other states.
Storms will become more focussed on a broad arc stretching across Australia’s eastern and northern states and down into the WA interior through the middle of the week. Sydney, Brisbane and Canberra will all be at risk of severe thunderstorm activity on Wednesday.
Showers and thunderstorms will continue then over Australia’s east and north on Thursday and Friday, while also extending towards the south of WA due to the passage of a cold front. This frontal system, combined with deepening low pressure troughs over Australia, will lead to further widespread thunderstorm activity over Australia from this weekend into early next week.
Image: Forecast accumulated rain this week, giving an indication of where the rain and storms are expected to occur during the next seven days.
Computer models suggest that thunderstorm activity will continue over several Australian states and territories next week as the key ingredients for storms continue to combine over the country.
On Sunday, more than 1.1 million lightning strikes were detected by Weatherzone’s Total Lightning Network, primarily over central Australia, southeast Queensland and the Kimberley.
Image: The Red Centre was red with lightning, as depicted on our map.
With daily thunderstorms anticipated to affect Australia for the next one-to-two weeks, be sure to keep a close eye on the latest severe thunderstorm warnings in your state or territory each day.
Title image: lightning in Surfers Paradise, Qld. Source: iStock / KathyGould
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