The polar vortex and how it affects Australia
Stretching high above Earth’s North and South Poles are two swirling columns of extremely cold air encircled by powerful winds. These whirlpools of frigid air and wind are each called the polar vortex, and they can have a big...
Winter warm spell on the way
If you’re sick of the winter chill, how does a temperature approaching 20°C in Melbourne sound for the first two days of next week? How about 22°C in Adelaide, 18°C for Canberra, and even the strong possibility of 20°C...
Heaviest August downpour in 48 years for WA town
The heaviest August rain in almost half a century has fallen in a town to the north of Perth on Wednesday morning, as a very unstable airmass moved across the region. A coastal trough extending from offshore Two Rocks...
Warm Aussie July despite deep freeze
It got seriously cold at times in Australia in July, with Tasmania experiencing a deep freeze in the first week of July as the tiny town of Liawenee dipped to –13.5°C. Other parts of the country also saw extremes...
Wet week for Tas and southwest WA
Several cold fronts will batter southern parts of Australia this week, bringing much needed rain to areas that have seen record low rainfall this year. During the last year, stubborn high pressure systems sitting over southern Australia have...
Snow season cracks the magic metre
Approximately halfway through the Australian hydropower season, the good news is that we’ve got a decent season on our hands after heavy snowfalls on each of the last two weekends. In raw statistical terms, season 2024 is still short...
Sydney recovering from coldest, windiest spell in 13 years
Sydney just shivered through one of the windiest and coldest 5-day streaks in more than a decade, as freezing southerly winds lashed the NSW coast for days. The cold and ferocious winds were directed over the NSW coast...
July 2024, the windiest month in a year
After a prolonged wind drought in Autumn, July 2024 was the windiest month in just under a year for the National Electricity Market (NEM). The slack winds in autumn were caused by blocking high pressure systems sitting over southern...
