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Low pressure is generating heavy rain or showers for much of NSW, northern Vic and southeast SA. Thunderstorms, some severe, are affecting central parts of NSW and drifting slowly eastwards. A few showers are affecting the NT and Qld as well as the south and east coasts.
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Today, 4:47AM UTC
Southern Hemisphere's polar vortex is weakening – here's what this means for Australia
Stratospheric warming high above Antarctica could cause the Southern Hemisphere’s polar vortex to weaken at an unusually fast pace over the coming weeks. This weakened polar vortex has the potential to affect weather patterns across Australia and other parts of the Southern Hemisphere. What is the polar vortex? The polar vortex is a large circulating mass of cold air that sits above Earth’s polar regions in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. It extends from the ground right up to the stratosphere and its size, strength and shape can influence weather patterns across the planet. While the polar vortex extends from the surface up to the stratosphere, it is typically separated into two distinct sections: The stratospheric polar vortex sits about 15 to 50 km above the surface. This portion of the polar vortex usually forms in autumn, reaches its peak strength during winter and then breaks down in spring. The tropospheric polar vortex refers to the lowest portion of the vortex, typically between the surface and about 10 to 15 km altitude. Unlike the stratospheric polar vortex, the tropospheric vortex is present throughout the year, although it too peaks in strength during the winter months. Image: A 3D representation of the Southern Hemisphere’s polar vortex on September 8, 2025. Source: stratobserve.com Both sections of the polar vortex are connected, which means changes in the stratospheric vortex can propagate downwards and affect the behaviour of the tropospheric vortex below. Why do we care about the polar vortex? Meteorologists closely monitor the tropospheric polar vortex because it directly influences weather patterns across the planet. It does this by altering the position and shape of the polar jet stream, which affects the movement of weather systems in the planet’s mid-latitudes. When the Southern Hemisphere’s tropospheric polar vortex is stronger than usual, cold air and powerful winds surrounding Antarctica typically contract towards the south. This causes cold fronts and low pressure systems located in the planet’s mid-latitudes to also shift southwards, which can reduce the frequency and strength of fronts and lows passing over Australia. This southward shift in westerly winds, cold fronts and low pressure systems is also referred to as a positive phase of the Soutern Annular Mode (SAM). By contrast, a weakened tropospheric polar vortex can allow cold air and powerful winds to spread further away from the polar region. This can cause cold fronts and low pressure systems to push further north and become stronger and more frequent over Australia. This northward shift of westerly winds, cold fronts and low pressure systems is also referred to as a negative phase of the SAM. What is the polar vortex doing now? The Southern Hemisphere’s polar vortex always weakens during spring as part of its normal seasonal cycle. However, the stratospheric polar vortex has started to weaken faster than usual over the past week due to abnormally warm air entering the polar stratosphere. Some forecast models suggest that further stratospheric warming could occur through the middle of September as well. Image: Modelled 10hPa temperature and geopotential height at 00 UTC on September 20, 2025, showing a large area of relatively warm air (pink and blue shading) interacting with the stratospheric polar vortex. Source: ECMWF Sudden warming in the polar stratosphere can have a flow-on effect that filters down through the atmosphere and causes the tropospheric vortex to weaken, typically in the days and weeks following the initial stratospheric warming. Image: Modelled zonal wind for the 10 hPa level of the atmosphere at 60°S latitude. The red line shows that winds associated with the stratospheric polar vortex have weakened to abnormally low speeds in the past week and further weakening is possible in the coming weeks (green lines). Source: NOAA A stratospheric warming episode in July 2024 caused the tropospheric polar vortex to weaken in late July and early August. That event contributed to abnormally high temperatures over large areas of Australia, which resulted in the country’s warmest August on record. It’s difficult to predict how each stratospheric warming episode will impact weather patterns closer to the ground. This is because stratospheric warming events in the Southern Hemisphere are rare, and no two events are the same. However, if the tropospheric polar vortex does weaken in the coming weeks, it will make the following weather patterns more likely in Australia during mid-to-late spring: Cold fronts and low pressure systems may become more active over southern Australia. This enhanced front and low activity may increase the potential for northwest cloudbands to develop over Australia. Rainfall would become more likely in southern Australia but less likely in eastern Australia. Early-season heatwaves and abnormally hot days will become an increased risk over southern Australia. Weatherzone meteorologists will continue to keep a close eye on the polar vortex in the coming weeks and provide updates on its impacts via the Weatherzone news feed.
Today, 2:23AM UTC
Vast area of booming outback storms
A dynamic few days of Australian weather has kicked off with thunderstorms and wild wind gusts across a huge part of the country’s interior. Numerous outback locations in three states and the Northern Territory saw thunderstorms with heavy rainfall from Monday afternoon through to Tuesday morning. Notable 24-hour totals to 9am Monday totals included: Alice Springs received 21.4mm, which was its heaviest daily fall in September for 32 years. September is typically the second-driest month, with a monthly average of just 8.6mm. Some storm damage from wind gusts was also reported. Tibooburra in the far northwest corner of NSW received 31.6mm. Unusually for this very dry outpost, this was the second-highest 24-hour daily rainfall total anywhere in NSW. Moomba Airport in the far northeast corner of SA received 15mm, which was by far the highest 24-hour total yesterday at any South Australian weather station. Just over the border from Moomba, several spots in southwest Qld received heavy falls for this time of year, including 20mm at Nappa Merrie cattle station. The iconic outback town of Birdsville was another location in southwest Qld to receive a decent drop. While its 24-hour total of 9.6mm wasn’t huge, it was still more rain in a day than the entire September monthly average of 8.8mm. Roads in the Cameron Corner area (where NSW, SA and Qld meet) have been closed due to flooding. Image: Lightning strikes within 800km of Birdsville in the 36 hours to midday on Tuesday, September 9, 2025. Birdsville’s weather was also notable for lightning (with 467,000 strikes detected within 800km of the town in the 36 hours to midday Turesday) as well as for several wild wind gusts which reached 117 km/h early on Monday evening as the storms blew into town. Fortunately, most of the 4,000 visitors who camped last weekend for the town's annual Birdsville Races had already packed up their tents. Why such dynamic weather in the outback? Weatherzone meteorologist Joel Pippard pointed to the combination of heat plus a northwest cloudband streaming across the continent bearing tropical moisture. "Heat plus moisture equals thunderstorms, it’s that simple," Pippard said. Image: Combined radar and satellite loop in the interior of Australia on the afternoon of Monday, September 8, 2025. The pink blobs indicate outbreaks of lightning associated with storms. Pippard added that storms were occurring even at 5am this Tuesday at some outback locations – a time of day when the weather is typically benign in early spring. Meanwhile the likelihood of storms will increase this Tuesday afternoon in parts of southern Qld and large parts of NSW, roughly along the line of the northwest cloudband. A stormy outbreak is also likely in parts of Victoria and southern SA in coming days, as polar air in the Southern Ocean clashes with warmer air. If you look closely at the satellite and radar loop above, you can see the airmass with polar origins surging onto the WA coast near Esperance. Expect dynamic weather as that airmass pushes east.
08 Sep 2025, 5:14AM UTC
Sydney swelters in 30°C
Sydney Airport reached 30.1°C at 1:40pm on Monday, just eight days after winter, as a surge of early spring warmth baked the east coast in a blustery northwesterly airstream. In summer, Sydney’s west is often considerably hotter than the coastal suburbs on days when winds have a westerly aspect. But in springtime – and especially early in the season – the city’s east (where the airport is located) can be as warm as the west, or even slightly warmer. That's the situation this Monday, with the mercury topping 29°C at several locations in the city’s west and similarly warm conditions near the coast. To 3pm, only the airport had registered a reading of 30°C or higher. The highest temperature recorded to 3pm at Sydney’s official weather station at Observatory Hill was 29.0°C. Image: Satellite image with live temperatures across the Sydney basin and nearby parts of NSW at 1:30pm (AEST) on Monday, September 8, 2025. It’s worth noting that the Sydney Airport weather station sits on a grassy area to the side of the runways to minimise the "heat island effect" generated by the large areas of asphalt. Why is Sydney so hot today, and is 30 degrees unusual so soon after winter? Those blustery northwesterly winds mentioned earlier (gusts today have topped 60 km/h at several weather stations in the Sydney area) are pushing warm air from the interior of the country towards the east coast. READ MORE: Spring see-saw brings wildly fluctuating temperatures Days of 30-degrees or slightly higher in the Sydney basin are not unknown this early in the season. Indeed, Sydney Airport reached 31.5°C almost exactly a year ago, on September 6, 2024.The city’s maximum that day was 29.7°C. Image: Live temperatures across the Sydney basin and nearby parts of NSW at 1:30pm (AEST) on Monday, September 8, 2025. Sydney temperatures will start to drop as the week progresses, bringing maximums much closer to the September average of 20.2°C. Rain should arrive later on Wednesday and persist into Thursday, when a maximum of just 18°C is expected.