Southern Oscillation Index hits El Nino threshold
A key atmospheric indicator in the Pacific Ocean region has just surpassed the accepted threshold for El Niño, increasing the likelihood of abnormally dry and warm weather in Australia later this year. There has been a lot of talk...
Australian 2023 snow season outlook
Australia could see a lacklustre snow season this year if an anticipated unfavourable combination of Pacific and Indian Ocean climate drivers comes to fruition. The Australian snow season is notoriously fickle. Some years can see heaps of snow coming...
Southern Annular Mode hits near-record level
The Southern Annular Mode (SAM) – one of the main broad-scale mechanisms influencing Australia’s climate – just reached one if its strongest positive levels on record. What is the SAM? The SAM refers to the north-south displacement of the...
One month’s rain soaks Gold Coast overnight
Parts of southeast Qld just received more than a month’s worth of rain in 24 hours, with some areas on the Gold Coast collecting around 100 mm in six hours overnight. A low pressure trough and developing low pressure...
Wet night ahead for southeast QLD and northeast NSW
Heavy rain will soak parts of southeast Queensland and northeast New South Wales on Monday night into Tuesday morning, with some places at risk of flooding. An upper-level trough passing over southern Qld on Monday will allow a surface...
Atmosphere holding back El Nino outlook
Despite the ocean giving clear signs that El Niño could form later this year, a lack of feedback from the atmosphere is giving forecasters a reason to be cautious in their outlook. An abrupt period of warming across the...
Huge waves hit NSW coast as low moves offshore
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...
Coldest May temps in decades as snow reaches low levels in southeast Australia
A rare meteorological phenomenon caused parts of southeastern Australia to shiver through their lowest May temperatures in years over the last 24 hours. The satellite images below show a low pressure system spinning over the Tasman Sea on Monday...
