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A trough and front moving over western WA is bringing gusty winds & heavy rainfall. A weakening low with troughs are generating Alpine snow & showers in southeast SA, TAS, VIC, inland NSW and southeast QLD. High pressure is keeping elsewhere settled.
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Today, 9:15AM UTC
Massive fires scorch NT Top End
Huge plumes of smoke and vast burn scars can be seen from space as seasonal fires continue to burn across the NT’s Top End. The sequence of satellite images below was captured in the final hours of daylight on Monday, August 15, 2022. These spectacular images were captured by the Himawari-8 satellite, which sits roughly 36,000 kilometres above the surface of the Earth. Another satellite positioned closer to the ground - about 700 kilometres high - also witnessed Monday’s fires and captured the images below. These high-resolution images show a huge burn scar left by a fire that is currently burning near Katherine. Image: True-colour (top) and false-colour (bottom) images captured by NASA's Terra Satellite on Monday, August 15, 2022. Both images show a large burn scar to the northwest of Katherine. Source: NASA Worldview The NT’s Top End is in the middle of its dry season, with fires a typical occurrence in the region at this time of year. The latest emergency information for these fires is available on the NT PFES website.
Today, 1:56AM UTC
Flooding rain imminent in WA
Heavy rain and thunderstorms will sweep over WA during the next 24 to 48 hours, with some areas likely to see enough rain to cause flooding. A deep stream of tropical moisture interacting with a cold front will cause a rainband to move over the southwestern half of WA from late Monday and on Tuesday. The satellite images below show the band of cloud and rain developing to the west of WA on Monday morning. Rain will start to increase over the west coast of WA from Monday afternoon, becoming heavier and more widespread on Monday night. By Tuesday morning, widespread rain with locally heavy falls will have extended inland towards the Central Wheat Belt and southern Goldfields Districts. Rain will then continue to progress further south and east during Tuesday, affecting parts of the inland Gascoyne, Goldfields and western Eucla Districts. The map below shows how much rain one forecast model predicts during the 48-hour period ending at 8pm AWST on Tuesday. Image: Forecast accumulated rainfall during the 48 hours ending at 8pm AWST on Tuesday, August 16, according to the ECMWF-HRES model. The rainband will start to break down on Wednesday as it gets further away from the Indian Ocean and contracts towards the southeast corner of WA. However, a separate low pressure system will deliver another burst of showers, thunderstorms and powerful winds across the state’s western and southwestern districts on Wednesday. This system is likely to cause small hail and blustery thunderstorms in some areas, with damaging winds a risk. Areas of localised flooding and damaging winds are possible over a broad area of WA during the next three days, so be sure to stay up to date with the latest warnings in your area.
14 Aug 2022, 3:47AM UTC
Powerful low pressure system lashes Tasmania
A deep low-pressure system rapidly intensified overnight and began pounding Tasmania and southeast Victoria with howling winds and heavy rain. Some of the highest wind gusts recorded overnight and this morning include 82km/h at Hobart, 91km/h at Cape Bruny and 100km/h at Mount Wellington. Many locations recorded more than 50mm of rain to 9am this morning. The highest total was at Mount Wellington with 109mm in 24 hours and 82mm in 6 hours. Image: BOM MSLP analysis 4am EST Sunday 14th Like an East Coast Low, this system developed within a coastal trough and intensified rapidly due to a wave in the upper-level winds, an influx of tropical moisture and warmer-than-average sea surface temperatures. Image: Wave in the jet stream over southeast Australia at 10pm EST Sat 13th (ECMWF model) Image: BOM sea surface temperature anomaly for Fri 12th August The system has weakened and the Bureau of Meteorology has cancelled a severe weather warning for damaging winds and heavy rainfall for southern and eastern Tasmania. Another warning for northeastern Tasmania may be issued later today due to the threat of severe thunderstorms. Stay up to date with the latest warnings using https://www.weatherzone.com.au/warnings The system will weaken further on Monday but still cause showers and gusty winds across southeast Australia before it clears off on Tuesday. The more usual cold fronts and troughs will then return on Wednesday, making for quite a wet and windy week.
Weather in Business
11 Jul 2022, 3:11AM UTC
Record month for wind power in Australia's National Electricity Market
New data shows June was one of the best ever months for renewable energy in Australia’s National Electricity Market and a record-breaking month for wind power. June 2022 was a relatively dry and cool month for much of eastern and southeastern Australia, with frequent periods of strong winds and clear skies. NSW registered its driest June since 1986, while Sydney and Brisbane had their sunniest June since 2004. This abundance of sunshine and wind created an ideal month for renewable energy generation in the National Electricity Market (NEM). The combined generation of solar (rooftop and utility), wind and hydropower across the NEM in June 2022 was 5,969 Gigawatt hours (GWh). This is the third highest monthly volume of renewable energy generation in the NEM in records dating back to 1998. Wind power Wind power had a record-breaking month in the NEM, with 2,527 GWh of generation in June 2022 beating the previous monthly record of 2472 GWh from July 2021. Victoria also set a new record for wind power in June this year, with 1,073 GWh easily surpassing the state’s previous record of 922 GWh from July 2021. Solar Power Solar power also had a strong month, with rooftop generation in June outperforming May 2022, despite May usually being the sunnier month. This was the first year on record where June rooftop solar generated more power than May. Utility solar also continued to see strong growth, producing 589 GWh in the NEM during June 2022, which was a big step up from 445 GWh in June 2021. Hydropower While June was a very dry month for large areas of eastern and southeastern Australia, an abundance of rain earlier in the year ensured that there was plenty of water available for hydropower. The NEM received 1,885 GWh of electricity from hydropower in June 2022, which was the 8th highest monthly value in 283 months of records dating back to 1998. The combination of favourable weather and continued growth in the sector caused June 2022 to be an exceptional, and in some cases record-breaking month for renewable energy in the NEM.
21 Jun 2022, 3:53AM UTC
La Nina floods make NSW ports too fresh for ships
La Niña has had a surprising impact on shipping operations in NSW this year, with increased freshwater outflows from flooded rivers affecting the behavior of ships entering some ports. Ships entering tidal ports in NSW are affected by local weather conditions, tides and waves, which can all affect a vessel’s ability to enter and operate safely within a port. One of the important things to consider when allowing larger vessels to enter NSW ports is the tide, which needs to be high enough to allow deep drafted vessels to enter, navigate and exit a port safely. This year, the window of time where water levels are high enough for ships to enter some NSW ports has been reduced by enhanced freshwater inflows from heavy rain and flooding. Image: Rainfall between January and May 2022 was in the top 10 percent of historical records for most of eastern NSW, with some areas receiving their highest rainfall on record for this period. Source: Bureau of Meteorology Freshwater is less dense than salt water, which allows ships to sit lower in the water. The prolific flooding seen in parts of eastern NSW earlier this year caused huge injections of freshwater into the coastal zone, which decreased salinity and affected shipping operations. According to Philip Perkins, Meteorologist and Sales Executive of Ports, Offshore and Safety at Weatherzone, "port users and operators at river-based terminals have been impacted by summer and autumn rainfall. “During high river flows water salinity is reduced. This means vessels can behave differently, resulting in elevated risk to vessels even at berth. Even when secured properly, berthed vessels can be impacted by passing traffic in the terminal.’’ In addition to the safety of ships, decreased salinity at river-based terminals can also reduce the window of time where larger vessels can enter these ports. In some cases, this may force ships to wait for the next high tide before entering or departing the port. Fortunately, river levels and discharge rates have now returned to more normal levels in eastern NSW. However, the ongoing influence of La Niña and a developing negative Indian Ocean Dipole increases the risk of more flooding in the months ahead. With the ground still holding a lot of water, any periods of heavy rain this winter and spring are likely to cause flooding, which may have immediate impacts on shipping operations.
