Australian Weather

31 Oct 2025, 4:00AM UTC

Sydney and Brisbane just had their warmest October on record, despite a relatively cool end to the month. A surge of cold air caused temperatures to plummet in eastern Australia earlier this week. In Brisbane, the temperature only reached 22.2°C on Tuesday, while Sydney’s maximums remained below 18°C on both Tuesday and Wednesday. These chilly days, which were about 4 to 5°C below average for this time of year, were a cold drop in an ocean of warmth this month. Sydney and Brisbane, and many areas in between, just experienced their warmest October on record based on maximum temperatures. Sydney’s average maximum temperature for the month will come in at around 26.6°C. This is more than 4°C above the monthly average and warmer than the previous October record of 26.2°C from 1988. Brisbane’s average maximum temperature in October will come in at around 29.4°C, more than 2°C above average and comfortably higher than the previous October record of 28.7°C from 1918. Many other areas in Queensland and New South Wales also broke their maximum temperature records this month. This included new state records when Birdsville, Qld reached 46.1°C and Wanaaring, NSW reached 44.9°C on October 21. Image: Modelled daily maximum temperature over Australia on October 21, 2025, showing a pool of very hot air over the eastern inland. Why was October so warm in eastern Australia? A rare sequence of stratospheric warming episodes occurred high above Antarctica in September and October. These abrupt changes in temperature disrupted the Southern Hemisphere's polar vortex, which affected weather patterns over Australia during October. One of the big effects from this stratospheric phenomenon was a relentless flow of warm and dry westerly winds over eastern Australia throughout most of October. These westerly winds carried hot air from central Australia across Qld and NSW, causing weeks of unseasonably warm and dry weather. The map below shows that air temperature around 1.5 km above the surface was, on average, about 3 to 4°C warmer than usual over a large area of central and eastern Australia. Image: Average 850 hPa temperature anomaly for the first 28 days of October 2025. Source: NOAA Another factor that helped cause this month’s record-breaking heat was a lack of cloud and rain over large areas of the country. Despite the presence of a strong negative Indian Ocean Dipole – a climate driver than typically boosts cloud and rain over Australia in spring – northern, central and eastern Australia only saw limited rain during October. This was because of the strong influence of the stratospheric warming event, which counteracted the IOD. Climate change is also likely to have played a role in this month’s record heat. The average maximum temperature over eastern Australia has increased by around 1.84°C since 1910.

31 Oct 2025, 3:51AM UTC

Australia's iconic Snowy River didn’t earn its name without good reason. But "Icy River" would be a more accurate description right now, as high ice walls still line the banks of the upper reaches of the Snowy and nearby creeks and streams – even as November is upon us. The reason these spectacular snowdrifts are still lining Australia’s highest alpine waterways a month out from summer is because 2025 was a relatively good snow season at higher elevations. Image: Snowdrifts caving in under their own weight as the running waters of alpine creeks undercut them. Source: Phil Campbell. While Australia’s lowest ski resorts struggled with a meagre snowpack and an abbreviated ski season, deep snow accumulated at the highest elevations of the mainland high country. At an elevation of 1830m, Spencers Creek in NSW is the highest point at which Snowy Hydro has taken consistent snow depth readings through winter and spring since 1954. This year, Spencers Creek’s peak snow depth was 220.4cm in early September The ice wall effect in the lead image of this story is caused by drifting snow. On ridges and wind-scoured parts of the mountains, snow disappears quickly at the beginning of spring or even in late winter. But in protected areas, snow accumulates until it is many metres deep. Even after a moderate snow season, snow patches persist into spring and early summer on the lee slopes of Australia’s highest peak Mt Kosciuszko and nearby summits. Anyone who has hiked Kosciuszko in summer (and 100,000 people do it year) could tell you that. Image: The view from below a snowdrift as an alpine creek carries meltwater to the Snowy River near Charlotte Pass, NSW. Source: Steve Smith. Snow patches can also be seen well into December most years on the highest peaks of the Victorian Alps like Mt Bogong and Mt Feathertop. But because the NSW alpine region is a few hundred metres higher than Victoria’s, and because its topography is slightly less rugged overall, the highest alpine valleys in NSW retain deep snowdrifts along the creeks well into spring too. Image: Yes, this is Australia a month out from summer. Source: Phil Campbell. Interestingly, October 2025 was slightly warmer than average in the high country, with a rapid melting of the remnant winter snowpack. "A lack of moisture for cold fronts to turn into top-up snow has also contributed to rapid snow loss during October," Weatherzone meteorologist Ben Domensino explains. Despite the swiftly diminishing snow cover, the ice walls remain along some creeks – for now. Meanwhile the graph for Spencers Creek is just about locked in for season 2025, although it hasn’t quite hit rock bottom yet – with an average of 4.9cm on October 29. That measurement doesn’t include the deep ice walls on the fringe of the creek. Image: The good 2025 season (at higher elevations) can be seen in dark blue, while the relatively poor and much shorter 2024 season is in light blue. Source: Snowy Hydro.