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A cold front is generating gusty showers and the odd storm along the southern Australian coast. A trough crossing central NSW is bringing showers. An offshore trough in moist onshore winds is triggering few showers on QLD's east coast. Mostly dry elsewhere under high pressure.
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Today, 4:02AM UTC
Rain band to return to Western Australia
Parts of WA's Pilbara region are set to receive another drenching, only days after receiving unseasonable May rainfall. The Pilbara region is again at the centre of attention, with more rain and storms expected for the area on Tuesday and Wednesday. WA's interior should also see its fair share of wet weather, with several models agreeing that the rain will push further inland, although rainfall amounts do differ. Similar to the setup we talked about in our previous article, a trough and an associated cloud band will draw tropical moisture into the state. Simultaneously, we will also see a low-pressure trough push in from the southwest, bringing showers and possible storms to even more of WA. Image 1: Tropical moisture (blue and pink) being pulled into WA. *Precipitable water at Wed 18th 04:00 AEST using ECMWF model. The state will be relatively dry until Tuesday, courtesy of a high-pressure system currently making its way over WA. This system will then shift east, making way for this low-pressure trough and rain band. The Pilbara region is in the firing line for some of the larger rainfall totals, with models suggesting 50-100mm over the two-day period, and some isolated falls exceeding 100mm. Such large falls will bring the risk of flooding to the northwest, and even further into the interior. Image 2: Accumulated Precipitation to Wed 18th 22:00 AEST using ECMWF model The focus then shifts away from WA's Pilbara after Wednesday, where we should see this moisture-laden cloud band continue to bring showers to the interior late next week.
14 May 2022, 4:17AM UTC
Big swell in Australia's South
The Southern Ocean will show why it’s one of the most powerful seas in the world this week. A deep low-pressure system is crossing the Great Australian Bight this weekend, building a large swell that will affect the coasts of WA, SA, VIC, and TAS. Waves of 3-4 metres, SW direction, and periods of 10-12 seconds will impact the coastal region of western WA, southern SA, western VIC, and western/southern TAS from tomorrow morning. This swell will move to the east and increase on Monday 16th and Tuesday 17th. Waves are likely to be largest on the coast western areas of VIC and TAS, potentially exceeding 5 metres high in the surf zone over western TAS. Significant Wave Heigh on Tuesday 17th at 7am using Wave Watch III Another important impact will be over the coastal areas will be the full moon on Monday 16th. During the full and the new moons (when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are reasonably well-aligned), the gap between the high and low tides is bigger and the waves’ impact on the coast is amplified. The impact of this big swell combined with the full moon over the coastal zones includes significant erosion and flooding, mainly for VIC and TAS. The waves will ease and move away from late Wednesday 18th.
14 May 2022, 2:41AM UTC
Summery night during the descent into winter
Despite only being two-and-a-half weeks from the start of winter, parts of the southeast have had a record-breaking hot night more typically seen in the heart of summer. In NSW, Yamba sweated through its hottest May night in 112 years of records, staying above 22.1°C all night. In comparison, this would still be a whole degree above average even if it had occurred in January. Other record-breakers were 18.6°C in Tocal (51-year history) and 9.5°C in the ACT’s Mount Ginni (17-year history). In Victoria, Warrnambool had their hottest May night in 48 years, with the mercury staying above 15.0°C. Unfortunately, some of the warmest temperatures (relative to average) occurred over the Australian Alpine region. Australia's highest weather station Thredbo Top Station stayed above 7°C all night, to bring their hottest May night for 44 years. Similar feats were also recorded in Perisher Valley (6.8°C), Mount Hotham (7.9°C), Mount Buller (8.6°C), and Falls Creek (8.4°C). All these major resorts had their warmest May nights in 20 to 30 years, meaning no natural snow is anywhere on the ground in the Australian mainland anymore. Image: Temperatures and satellite image at 6am EST Saturday This warm burst of weather has been brought on by the combination of two atmospheric rivers converging with a warm airmass. The rivers have bought an overabundance of cloud helping to trap the heat close to the ground, just like a blanket. A trough and front crossing the south has also led to some strong winds over the Alps (Thredbo has gusted to 107km/h this morning), helping to mix up the atmosphere and prevent a cooling inversion from forming near the surface. While both atmospheric rivers are starting to track east this weekend, another warm night is on the cards for Sunday and into Monday, as the cloud crosses NSW and Queensland. If chilly weather is more of your preference, cooler mornings are expected from mid-week, as dry and cold air drifts over the southeast.
Weather in Business
08 Mar 2022, 11:43PM UTC
How has this heavy rainfall impacted the aviation industry?
It has been a challenging week across NSW airports with heavy rain, thunderstorms, strong winds and low cloud all impacting the aviation industry. This week’s heavy rainfall has been caused by another East Coast Low which developed in the early hours of Tuesday morning. This system caused heavy rainfall and flooding across Sydney’s Northern Beaches, with Allambie recording 120mm in 7 hours to 4pm Tuesday, March 8. Sydney’s southwest has also seen heavy rainfall over the Georges River, prompting an evacuation of thousands of residents. Sydney airport's largest daily rainfall total this week was 80.2 mm to 9am on Tuesday, March 8, followed by an additional 44.8 mm up to 9am on Wednesday. Does this rainfall affect aircraft? Weather can significantly affect aircraft operations. Thunderstorms, heavy rain, low cloud and fog can all reduce visibility at or around airports, often causing delays and disruptions to flight schedules. While heavy rain doesn’t usually affect aircraft directly when it’s in the air, the winds that can be associated with heavy rainfall or thunderstorms can cause turbulence and pose challenges to pilots during the flight. Heavy rainfall itself does not cause too many disruptions on the ground either, however associated low cloud, wind and poor visibility can. On Tuesday afternoon, Sydney Airport's visibility dropped down to 1000 metres, with much of the sky covered by cloud bases sitting at around 900 feet, as heavy rain moved over the area. While each aircraft and airport have different criteria in which they can take off and land in, the visibility and cloud height observed on Tuesday afternoon is likely to have caused significant disruptions. Bad weather not only affects the number of planes that can land but can also reduce the number of aircraft that can take off during any given hour, disrupting flight schedules and causing delays. During periods of adverse weather, aircraft also must carry additional fuel, increasing the cost of each flight. Heavy rain or thunderstorms can produce strong wind gusts, as cool dense air moves towards the surface with the rainfall or hail. These gusts create turbulence and may cause issues as the aircraft takes off or lands. The historic rainfall and flooding event in the last fortnight caused some runways in NSW to be submerged in flood water. The image below shows parts of the runway underwater at Gold Coast Airport on Monday, February 28 2022. Image: Flooding affecting Gold Coast Airport QLD, February 28 2022 Source: @phil_mobbs How can Weatherzone help the aviation industry? Weather has a significant and wide-ranging impact on the aviation industry, and poor management of meteorological elements can have devastating effects on safety, operating costs and reputation. Weatherzone understands the aviation industry and the complex and stringent requirements in place, as well as the need to ensure operational efficiency is maximised. We provide a wide range of products and services that suit airports (ground operations), small regional carriers and some of the world’s biggest airlines alike. Whether the focus is on ground safety, optimising schedules, reducing diversions or managing logistics, Weatherzone’s Aviation services can help. For more information, please contact us at business@weatherzone.com.au.
14 Feb 2022, 3:00AM UTC
Ideal wind power week for the NEM
A series of low-pressure troughs and cold fronts will sweep across southern Australia this week, increasing wind power output in multiple states for several days. The map below shows a low-pressure trough stretching between SA, VIC and TAS on Monday morning, which was directing hot and gusty winds across southeastern Australia. Image: Mean Sea Level Pressure (MSLP) at 11am on Monday, February 14, showing a trough sitting through SA and VIC. The highest wind gust recorded in VIC on Monday morning was at Kilmore gap, which gusted 67km/h at 11:51am, while across the border in SA, Cape Borda gusted 46km/h at 9:26am. These gusty northwesterly winds will continue over parts of SA, VIC and TAS on Monday, elevating wind power across wind farms in the National Electricity Market (NEM). Average wind speeds of 35-35km/h are forecast on Monday, with wind gusts peaking at 70-85km/h, particularly in elevated areas. The gusty winds are expected to ease from Monday evening, with wind power output expected to briefly drop. While wind will ease on Tuesday and Wednesday, the trough may generate severe storms across parts of VIC on Wednesday. These storms have the potential to produce locally damaging or destructive winds as well as heavy rain and large hail. A stronger cold front will then move across the region during Thursday and Friday, increasing wind power across the NEM once again as it moves through. The wind with this frontal system is set to be stronger than earlier in the week, with gusts peaking at around 75-90km/h. These strong and blustery winds will ease on the weekend as the cold front moves into the Tasman Sea and away from Australia. Are all wind speeds good for wind farms? Strong winds are usually great news for wind farms, because they allow more power generation. However, sometimes the winds can be too strong for wind farms to operate. There is a sweet spot when it comes to wind power. Wind gusts above 90km/h (25m/s) can damage the wind turbines and the propellers if they are spinning. Wind farms may have to turn the turbines off if the winds reach the ‘cut off’ wind speeds (25m/s) to ensure the strong winds do not damage the turbines. If the winds are too strong, wind power capacities may be reduced for lengthy periods of time when the turbines are turned off. On the other hand, if the wind is too light, it won’t turn the wind turbines enough to generate power. Fortunately for the wind farms across the NEM, this week’s winds are unlikely to reach the cut-out criteria, unless a severe thunderstorm passes over. This is good news for wind farms, with the turbines likely able to remain on all week, producing power. Where are the wind farms located in Australia? Australia is rich in renewable energy resources, with generation spread across all states and territories. The map below shows where wind, solar and hydro facilities are located across Australia, excluding the NT. Image:Locations of most of Australia's wind, solar and hydro facilities. Wind power resources are abundant across most states and territories, with more being built each year. Weatherzone provides detailed wind power forecasts to our energy clients across Australia, for more information, please contact us at business@weatherzone.com.au.
