Australian tropics booming to life, increasing tropical cyclone risk
An active pulse of the Madden-Julian Oscillation will increase the risk of tropical cyclones and thunderstorms in the Australian region over the coming week. The Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) refers to a pulse of increased tropical cloud, rainfall and thunderstorm...
Pacific Ocean cold pool emerges, hinting at La Niña
A pool of unusually cold water has appeared at the surface of the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean, hinting that the foundations of a La Niña event may be lurking beneath the surface. The Pacific Ocean has been in an...
Unusually stormy summer for Australia, lightning data shows
Large areas of Australia saw an above average number of lightning days this summer, with Melbourne, Canberra and Brisbane all seeing 5 to 6 extra storm days during the season. Australia always sees lots of lightning during summer as...
Waterspouts and 250 mm of rain in southeast Queensland
Heavy rain and thunderstorms soaked parts of southeast Qld on Monday into Tuesday morning, with the unstable weather even causing a waterspout in Moreton Bay. Moisture-laden easterly surface winds feeding into a colder pool of air aloft caused ideal...
Wet season arriving in WA this week
Rain and thunderstorms will replace extreme heat over large areas of WA this week, with some places in the state’s north likely to see enough rain to officially mark the start of the wet season. In Australia, the northern...
Second hottest summer days on record in Perth
Perth just had its second hottest summer on record based on daytime temperatures, capping off the season with a remarkably warm February featuring a record-breaking number of 40°C days. The average maximum temperature in Perth this summer was 32.6ºC....
Sweaty, stormy end to Sydney’s third hottest summer on record
Sydney has ended its third warmest summer on record with a warm and muggy day featuring afternoon thunderstorms – providing a fitting end to what was an unusually sweaty season for the NSW capital city. Sydney’s mean temperature...
Record summer warmth in Brisbane
Brisbane just tossed and turned through its warmest summer on record based on overnight minimum temperatures, with the city also registering one of its top two warmest summers on record based on the mean temperature. A combination of abnormally...
