Australian Weather

Today, 1:34AM UTC

Skies were ablaze over coastal New South Wales as the sun set on the Easter break, with a total of 878,269 lightning strikes detected within a 600km radius of Sydney. The sky show was triggered by a combination of warm ocean temperatures and cold air in the upper atmosphere, as a cut-off low formed after a cold front crossed the coastline on Monday afternoon and evening. Image: Lightning strikes within 600km of Sydney from midnight Monday, April 21 to 6am Tuesday, April 22, 2025.  The combination of abundant cold air aloft and warm sea surface temperatures which are typical for mid-autumn provided the perfect ingredients for the spectacular lightning outbreak, especially just off the coast. Image: Lightning over Sydney's eastern suburbs on the evening of Sunday, April 21, 2025. Intense rain also fell in places, although it was very hit and miss, which is typical with this sort of set-up. The heaviest 24-hour totals to 9am Tuesday all occurred in the Shoalhaven region of the NSW South Coast. They included: Lake Conjola 101mm Ulladulla 80mm Currarong 80mm Lighter falls also penetrated inland to parts of southern NSW and the ACT, with Canberra recording 7.8mm, after 3.4mm the previous day. While these two totals were unremarkable, they were very welcome after a 20-day rainless streak to start April in the nation’s capital. Image: 12-hour NSW radar loop from midday to midnight on April 21, showing the heavy rain and storms developing on the NSW South Coast during the afternoon and evening. A period of unstable, showery weather lies ahead this week for much of the NSW coastline as moisture is pushed onshore in an easterly flow – with those warm sea surface temperatures enhancing the rainfall potential. While Sydney is unlikely to experience one of its big autumn deluges, showers are a strong possibility every day this week. Canberra will be drier in general, although it should see a few showers, especially on Anzac Day (Friday) and Saturday as a cold front approaches from the west.

20 Apr 2025, 10:34PM UTC

The Easter bunny may have made its rounds delivering chocolate across the country during Easter Sunday, but that hasn't stopped its sneaky appearance elsewhere. From west to east across the country, our weather models are painting pictures of our beloved creature in various forms of forecast parameters, from temperature to wind speed, or rain to dew points. Can you spot them all? Image: The easter bunny is leaving its mark on the country's forecast in the coming days. Source: istockphoto.com/StockSeller_ukr  First up, some interesting weather is expected on Tuesday for eastern NSW following some warm Easter weather. A southerly change will move through eastern NSW in the wake of a cold front during Tuesday. The cool air mass brought with an upper-level feature will increase showers through the region, allowing daytime maxima to not rise above the mid-teens for some elevated areas. Figure: maximum temperatures across southeastern NSW and eastern Vic to Tuesday 4pm AEST using the ACCESS-G3 model.  As the front moves east into the Tasman Sea and develops into a cutoff low, rainfall totals are expected to increase along the NSW South Coast, with totals possibly exceeding 100mm in 24 hours in some areas. However, the most significant totals will be well offshore and towards Lord Howe Island. Figure: 24-hour rainfall over NSW and the Tasman Sea to Wednesday 1am AEST using the GFS model.  Hopping over to the west, a cold front is expected to cross southwestern WA during Wednesday, bringing the first rainfall in up to a week for some areas. Potentially severe thunderstorms are also expected with an upper-level feature moving from the coastline to further inland throughout the day. However, sustained winds ahead of the front will be strongest about the exposed coast. Figure: Near-surface wind speed over southwest WA 11am AWST on Wednesday using the GFS model.  Staying in the west, but venturing further north to WA's Gascoyne region, maximum temperatures have averaged about 2-4 degrees above average over the past week. Warmth is expected to linger, including during the nights and mornings, with warm easterly winds blowing through. Figure: Near-surface wind speed and temperature for central-west WA at 8pm AWST on Wednesday using the ECMWF model.  Finally, dipping to the south, moist southerly winds are expected to transition into drier winds from the interior throughout this week. Dewpoints are expected to drop, particularly overnight, which will also allow for chillier temperatures, possibly in the single digits during the mid-week.  Figure: Near-surface wind speed and dewpoint temperature for eastern and central SA at 12:30am ACST on Thursday using the UKMO model.  So wherever you may be, we hope your Easter and long weekend has been enjoyable. Keep an eye on how forecasts develop throughout the week on our website.