NSW/ACT10:00PM AEST
Strong Wind Warning for Illawarra Coast
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Daily Forecast
A moist, unstable air mass supports scattered showers & storms over northern Qld, northeast WA and the NT's north. A cold front brings gusty showers to Tas & areas of SE SA, west Vic & south NSW. Showers & storms persist over SW WA with a broad low off the west coast. Clear elsew
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Daily Forecast
A moist, unstable air mass supports scattered showers & storms over northern Qld, northeast WA and the NT's north. A cold front brings gusty showers to Tas & areas of SE SA, west Vic & south NSW. Showers & storms persist over SW WA with a broad low off the west coast. Clear elsew
Latest Warnings
AUS
Extremes
Live Extremes
Lowest Temp
kunanyi /Mount Wellington, TAS
-0.3°C (11:50PM AEST)
Apr Long Term Average: 2.2°C
Apr Record: -6.5°C (1992)
Today’s Extremes
Highest Temp
23.4°C (11:54AM LHST)
APR Long Term Average: 23.4°C
APR Record: 27.9°C (2024)
Lowest Temp
kunanyi /Mount Wellington, TAS
-0.5°C (8:55PM AEST)
APR Long Term Average: 2.2°C
APR Record: -6.5°C (1992)
Wettest
-
- (24h to 9am)
Long Term Average: -
Record: -
This Month’s Extremes
Lowest Temp
-49.9°C (1 April)
Apr Long Term Average: 10.7°C
Apr Record: -1.2°C (2006)
This Year’s Extremes
Lowest Temp
-49.9°C (31 March)
JAN Long Term Average: 17.1°C
JAN Record: 6.1°C (1972)
Latest News
Climate Updates
Latest News
Today, 5:25AM UTC
27 days of rain: Townsville's longest run of recorded rain days in over three decades
A few days ago, we explored why Queensland has been so drenched this March, with the state experiencing its third-wettest March on record. This deluge has been driven by a La Niña-like pattern in the equatorial Pacific, record-warm ocean temperatures, and a monsoonal burst combined with an active Madden-Julian Oscillation, which has funnelled intense rainfall across the state, especially to North Queensland. While widespread major flooding is unfolding across the southwest due to the recent heavy rainfall event, it's the relentless and persistent nature of the weather in the north that has been particularly notable for Townsville over the past 27 days. It's safe to say that locals in Townsville have had their fill of the wet weather. After 27 consecutive recorded rain days, they're probably thinking, 'Enough already!' And they have every reason to be fed up, as the city has endured its longest stretch of recorded precipitation days in over three decades: 34 years, to be exact. From Tuesday, 11th March to today Sunday 6th April, precipitation has been recorded every single day at Townsville Airport, totalling an eye-popping 1,106.6mm over the 27-day period. The last time Townsville saw such an extensive run of rain was during December 1990-January 1991, when the city recorded the same number of rain days, accumulating 771.4mm. Looking at historical data, some of the longest rain periods since records began at this site in 1940 include 23 rain days during December 1980-January 1981, which brought 740.4mm, and 21 rain days during January-February 2009, with 969.2mm of rain. However, none of these even come close to the staggering volume of rain recorded this time around. In fact, the 1,106mm of rain recorded in the last 27 days has far surpassed the typical monthly average for both this March and April. The average rainfall for Townsville in March is only 188.9mm, while April's monthly average is just 67.7mm. One more striking detail: Townsville recorded 301.4mm of rain in the 24 hours leading up to Wednesday, 19th March: just 65.1mm shy of the daily rainfall record for March, set back in 1946 at 366.5mm, since records began for this site in 1940. But that's not all; this March has already shattered Townsville's previous monthly rainfall record. The previous record of 696.2mm, set in March 2011, has been eclipsed, with this March's total soaring to an extraordinary 1,004.6mm. There's still a chance Townsville could set a new record. If Townsville records at least some precipitation in the gauge throughout the remainder of today, Sunday 6th April, the city could record 28 consecutive rain days, setting a new record for Townsville Airport, the longest stretch of rain days in over 80 years of records.
05 Apr 2025, 5:21AM UTC
Damaging winds in Perth topple trees and reroute flights
A noteworthy easterly wind event occurred across southwest WA from Friday into Saturday morning, triggering the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) to issue warnings for damaging winds across the Darling Escarpment, including for the Perth Hills and foothills area. The fierce winds didn't just rattle fences and topple trees—they also disrupted international travel plans. One notable disruption was an Emirates Airbus A380 flight from Dubai, which found itself touching down in Melbourne instead of Perth, adding an unexpected 2,700 km detour and nearly four extra hours to what’s usually an 11-hour journey. Safe to say, passengers weren’t exactly flying high with joy. Some significant wind gusts recorded during the event included: -94 km/h at Gooseberry Hill at 8:31 pm on Friday. -91 km/h at Perth Airport at 8:11 pm on Friday. -89 km/h at Gooseberry Hill at 1:30 am on Saturday. Residents in the foothills and Perth Hills called it the strongest winds they'd seen in decades, with some expressing their shock online, such as Wendy from Maida Vale, a follower of the Perth Weather Live Facebook page, who shared, "We've lived in Maida Vale for 34 years and never had winds this strong for so long!". So, what caused these strong winds? A high pressure ridge in the Bight, combined with a low pressure system that formed near the WA coast late in the week, created the perfect conditions for a powerful easterly wind event. As the low-pressure system shifted offshore, it created a steep pressure gradient that intensified the winds, particularly in regions like the Perth Hills and foothills. Here, the terrain of the Darling Scarp amplifies the gusts as the winds accelerate when descending, especially when a temperature inversion is present just above the escarpment. The inversion acts like a barrier, trapping and concentrating the wind energy, which causes the winds to gain speed as they rush downhill. This was not just a wind event, though. A cut-off low in the upper atmosphere added instability to the system, triggering thunderstorms with localised heavy rainfall. Between 15-35 mm of rain fell in parts of the southwest, with Bunbury recording 3.6 mm in just 10 minutes and 6.2 mm in an hour early Saturday morning. Although windy conditions will persist across southwest WA, damaging winds are no longer expected, and the winds will steadily ease as the day unfolds.
04 Apr 2025, 12:05AM UTC
Twin cold fronts bringing snow to Tasmania this weekend
A burst of wintry weather will hit Tasmania this weekend, delivering a mix of snow, small hail, rain and blustery winds. A pair of cold fronts will sweep across Tasmania during the next three days, one on Friday night and another on Sunday. Image: Satellite image showing a cold front located to the south of Australia on Friday morning. The first front will cause wind and rain to increase late on Friday as temperatures take a dive into the evening. It should get cold enough for snow to fall to about 700m above sea level on Friday night into Saturday morning, possibly a bit lower. This has prompted a Bush Walkers Weather Alert in the Western and Central Plateau districts, and a Warning to Sheep Graziers in the North West Coast, Midlands, Upper Derwent Valley and the South East districts. Western parts of the state could also see small hail at times on Saturday. Wind and showers will ease briefly on Saturday morning before increasing again late Saturday into Sunday, ahead of and with the passage of the second cold front. This second frontal system will be stronger than the first, with a good chance of damaging wind gusts in some parts of the state. There will also be more rain, highland snow and small hail in the mix on Sunday. Image: Forecast wind gusts early on Sunday morning, showing powerful west-northwesterly winds affecting Tasmania ahead of an approaching cold front. While this weekend’s cold weather is not unusual for this time of year, it will cause dangerous conditions for outdoor activities and travel in some parts of the state. Bu sure to stay up to date with the latest weather warnings and road closures on Friday night and throughout the weekend.
Climate Updates
01 Apr 2025, 9:20AM UTC
Australia's hottest and 4th-wettest March on record
With nationwide average temperatures that were 2.41°C above the long-term average, Australia has registered its hottest March since national records were first kept in 1910. It was also Australia’s fourth-wettest March on record, with rainfall that was 47% above the long-term average. Wet weather and above-average temperatures generally don’t go together for the obvious reason that cloudy weather restricts the amount of warming sunlight, therefore it’s likely that the underlying influence of climate change was a factor contributing to Australia's very warm March. Image: Mean temperature anomalies for Australia from 1910 to 2025. The anomalies are compared to the average of the 30-year baseline period from 1961-1990. Source: BoM. Temperature statistics for March 2025 As mentioned, Australia as a whole was 2.41°C above the long-term average, the hottest March on record. Each individual state and territory was warmer than normal. Three states had their hottest March on record – SA, NSW and WA. South Australia registered the biggest anomaly of any state or territory, with statewide temperatures that were 3.26°C above the long-term average. Tasmania registered the smallest temperature anomaly, yet it was still the state's 10th-warmest March on record, with temperatures 1.06°C warmer than the long-term average. Rainfall summary for March 2025 As the blue areas on the chart below indicate, virtually the whole of Queensland and large parts of northern NSW saw rainfall that was very much above average, or even the highest on record, in March 2025. Image: Rainfall deciles for March 2025, with the darkest blue representing the highest March rainfall on record. Source: BoM. Overall it was Queensland's 3rd-wettest March on record. The first notable rainfall reading came on March 9, when Brisbane had its wettest day in half a century with 275.2mm recorded due to ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred. In the middle third of the month, the wettest part of the country was North Queensland, with Townsville recording its heaviest daily rainfall in 27 years when 301.4mm drenched the city in the 24-hours to 9am on March 19. Around the same time of the month, a weather station on the Cardwell Range, about halfway between Cairns and Townsville, recorded a 7-day rainfall total of 1090.8 mm. In the last full week of the month, 24-hour totals of more than 200mm were recorded at weather stations in far western Qld, as a prolonged influx of tropical moisture soaked outback and central Qld and parts of northern NSW. Despite the relentless rainfall in Qld and parts of NSW, March rainfall totals were below average for most of Tasmania, parts of the mainland's south and west, and parts of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. READ MORE: Normally dry creek now 60km wide
03 Feb 2025, 6:15AM UTC
Australia's second-warmest January on record
Australia has recorded its second-warmest January on record, with average temperatures that were 2.15°C above the long-term average across the nation as a whole. Only January 2019 was warmer overall, with temps a whopping 2.85°C above the long-term average in what became Australia's warmest year on record. But January 2025 was still an exceptionally warm month, with every state and territory warmer than usual, while Western Australia endured its warmest January on record. Here's the state-by-state breakdown of January’s mean temperature anomalies (mean temps are the average of max and min temps). South Australia +2.52°C Queensland +2.16°C Northern Territory +2.14°C Western Australia +2.13°C New South Wales* +2.02°C Victoria +1.71°C Tasmania +0.85°C *Note that the ACT is included as part of NSW as it has too few sites for a meaningful territory-wide average. In terms of rainfall, January was relatively dry compared to the long-term norm. Rainfall was 33% down on the long-term average nationwide, and was below-average in all states overall, although some pockets of some states got a heavier soaking than usual. Image: Cyclone Sean gave WA’s Pilbara coast considerably more January rainfall than usual, while the NSW coast was reasonably wet too, though thankfully not in the first week of the year when the men's cricket Test was on at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Source: BoM. When rainfall is below average, that generally means skies have been clear, which in turn tends to point towards warmer weather. So Australia's dryish January partly explains the exceptionally warm temperatures nationwide. But the underlying influence of climate change must also be taken into consideration, as illustrated in the graph below. Image: The warming trend is unmistakable. Source: BoM.
07 Mar 2023, 1:09AM UTC
Climate Update - Summer 2022-23
Australia just had one of its coolest and wettest summers of the last decade. However, there were clear signs that La Ni�a is finally losing its grip on Australia?s weather.
07 Dec 2022, 4:46AM UTC
Climate Update Spring 2022
Australia just had its 2nd wettest spring on record and its coolest spring in more than a decade. But will this cool and wet weather continue over summer?
Extremes & Records
Live Extremes
Lowest Temp
kunanyi /Mount Wellington, TAS
-0.3°C (11:50PM AEST)
Apr Long Term Average: 2.2°C
Apr Record: -6.5°C (1992)
Today’s Extremes
Highest Temp
23.4°C (11:54AM LHST)
APR Long Term Average: 23.4°C
APR Record: 27.9°C (2024)
Lowest Temp
kunanyi /Mount Wellington, TAS
-0.5°C (8:55PM AEST)
APR Long Term Average: 2.2°C
APR Record: -6.5°C (1992)
Wettest
-
- (24h to 9am)
Long Term Average: -
Record: -
This Month’s Extremes
Lowest Temp
-49.9°C (1 April)
Apr Long Term Average: 10.7°C
Apr Record: -1.2°C (2006)
This Year’s Extremes
Lowest Temp
-49.9°C (31 March)
JAN Long Term Average: 17.1°C
JAN Record: 6.1°C (1972)