There are no active warnings for this location.
Weather Maps
Daily Forecast
A low, trough and a cold front bring storms & rain to the southern NT, Vic, NSW & Tas. An active monsoon across the northern tropics is bringing scattered showers & storms. Onshore winds bring showers to the east coast. Clearer over west WA.
Latest Warnings
AUS
Latest News
Climate Updates
Latest News
Today, 6:22AM UTC
10 days of record-breaking inland rain
The unusually long-lasting low pressure system that has delivered huge rainfall totals to inland and even desert regions of Australia is finally starting to dissipate. The low is currently centred over New South Wales, having travelled from the Northern Territory into South Australia before moving east – all the while dragging tropical moisture southwards from waters north of the mainland. The low continues to generate steady falls this Tuesday in parts of central New South Wales. Between 9am and 5pm, Bathurst received 38.8mm, on the back of 44.8mm yesterday, which made this March the first month in half a year that the Central Tablelands city has exceeded its average monthly rainfall. But today’s rainfall figures are just a very small taste of some of the phenomenal totals from this system, some of which are worth revisiting before the system breaks up midweek. Image: Australian rainfall deciles for February 2026, illustrating how many outback areas had their wettest February on record, or close to it. Source: BoM. The wet outback Last Monday, huge falls were recorded around Cameron Corner, the place where the NSW, SA and Qld borders meet, including 120.6mm in a day at Winnathee in NSW – a location just about as close to Alice Springs as it is to Sydney. Illustrating the vast area of normally dry country covered by this system, last Tuesday Mount Isa (Qld) and Alice Springs (NT) both notched February rainfall records – Mount Isa for total rain accumulation, and Alice Springs for the number of rain days. Also on Tuesday, the Nappa Merrie cattle station in southwest Queensland’s Channel Country received 169 mm, which was close to the area’s annual average rainfall in a single day. Outback flooding was well underway in four states (Qld, SA, NT, NSW) by this stage. By the middle of last week, it was bucketing down in Birdsville, with 93.2mm in a day. That was the iconic outback town’s heaviest day of February rainfall this century and almost 60% of the annual average. Image: 12-hour combined radar and water vapour loop showing heavy rainfall on Wednesday, February 25, 2026 in the area near Birdsville. Source: Weatherzone. Towards the end of the week and into the weekend, the action shifted to South Australia and then to Victoria. Daily rainfall totals of more than 100mm were recorded at several outback locations in South Australia, while the Victorian regional city of Mildura saw almost 150mm on the first two days of March. Its annual average is just 285.6mm. Rainfall deficiencies eradicated Many of the areas mentioned in this story – especially in SA and Vic – have experienced long-term rainfall deficiencies. Compare the following two maps. The first shows Australian rainfall deciles in the 12 months to the end of January 2026. Image: Australian rainfall deciles in the 12 months to the end of January 2026. Source: BoM. The next map shows Australian rainfall deciles in the 12 months to the end of February 2026. The red area (indicating rainfall deficiencies) has noticeably shrunk, although it’s worth noting that some of the weekend’s heavy SA rain and most of the Victorian rain technically fell in March, so is not recorded yet on this chart. Expect much more blue in a month’s time. Image: Australian rainfall deciles in the 12 months to the end of February 2026. Source: BoM. Meanwhile showers could persist for much of this week in eastern New South Wales, while showers will continue or increase in large parts of Queensland. The fresh burst of eastern Australian rainfall will be due to the increasing influence of Tasman Sea or Coral Sea moisture and associated low pressure systems, rather than the existing low over NSW.
Today, 12:05AM UTC
How to see tonight's total lunar eclipse in Australia
A blood moon will be visible across cloud-free areas of Australia tonight, Tuesday March 3. Here’s how to watch the total lunar eclipse and which areas of the country will have the best view. What is a lunar eclipse? A lunar eclipse occurs when Earth becomes positioned between the Sun and the Moon, causing Earth’s shadow to shield the Moon from direct sunlight. This alignment causes the Earth-oriented face of the moon to appear red or orange as certain wavelengths of indirect sunlight are redirected towards the Moon’s surface by Earth’s atmosphere. The Moon’s red/orange colour during a total lunar eclipse is why it is also called a ‘blood moon’. What to expect during a lunar eclipse? The most visible part of this week’s lunar eclipse will last for around three hours in Australia. This will start with a phase called the partial eclipse as the Moon begins to move into the central, darkest part of Earth’s shadow, which is called the umbra. This phase of the eclipse looks like a huge bite is being taken out of the moon and it gradually gets larger as more of the Moon enters Earth’s umbra. The next phase of the eclipse is called the total eclipse, which occurs when the whole moon is positioned inside Earth’s umbra. While the moon gradually turns red or orange towards the end of the partial eclipse phase, the strongest colour is seen during the total eclipse. Following the total eclipse, the Moon will gradually exit Earth’s umbra and pass through a second partial eclipse phase. This will cause the Moon to return to its normal colour and gradually grow back into a regular full moon as it moves out of Earth’s shadow. Each of these three phases will last for around one hour on Tuesday night. Image: Total lunar eclipse times for Australian capital cities. Partial eclipses will occur for roughly one hour on either side of the times mentioned here. Source: Weatherzone. Where will there be cloud during the eclipse? Total lunar eclipses are safe to watch with a naked eye and can also be viewed using binoculars or a telescope. The main thing that will spoil your view of a blood moon is cloud. Large areas of northern Australia will be covered with cloud on Tuesday night due to an active monsoon trough in the tropics. This could prevent Darwin, Cairns and Broome from seeing part or all of the eclipse. The remnants of the low pressure system that caused flooding rain across central Australia in the past week will also bring cloudy skies to parts of southeastern Australia on Tuesday night. This will obstruct the view of the blood moon in parts of New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory. Some lingering cloud over central Australia could also spoil the show in areas of southwest Queensland and some southern areas of the Northern Territory. Most other areas of southern and western Australia will be cloud-free on Tuesday night. Image: Modelled cloud cover at 8pm AEDT on Tuesday, March 3, 2026. Source: Weatherzone. You can check local cloud cover forecasts and track the latest satellite observations in the Weatherzone app. When is the next eclipse in Australia? If you miss Tuesday night’s eclipse, you’ll have to wait nearly three years to see the next blood moon in Australia. The next total lunar eclipse will occur on the night of December 31, 2028 into the early hours of January 1, 2029. Another big eclipse to put in the diary is a total solar eclipse on July 22, 2028. Parts of Australia, including Sydney, will get to witness day suddenly turn to night as the Moon completely covers the face of the Sun for just under four minutes.
02 Mar 2026, 3:51AM UTC
Tropical cyclone risk increasing near Australia this week
Multiple tropical cyclones could form in the Australian region this week, increasing the threat of severe weather in Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland. An active monsoon trough will cause more widespread cloud, rain and thunderstorms over northern Australia throughout the week. This active monsoon period will also cause several low pressure systems to develop near northern Australia. Multiple lows forming near Australia Computer models suggest that three or four low pressure systems could form near northern Australia in the coming days. While there is uncertainty regarding the position and strength of these systems, the most likely areas for the systems to form will be to the north of WA, in the Gulf of Carpentaria and over the Coral Sea. Forecast guidance from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) suggests that there is greater than an 80% chance of tropical cyclone formation to the north of WA this week. Further east, this model rates the likelihood of tropical cyclone activity in the Gulf of Carpentaria to be above 50%, while there is around a 40% chance of tropical cyclone formation in the Coral Sea this week. Image: Likelihood that a tropical cyclone will pass within 300 km of a given location within a 48-hour window centred on 11pm AEDT on Thursday, March 5, 2026. Source: ECMWF. The Bureau of Meteorology also indicates an increased risk of tropical cyclone formation in these regions, although gives lower probabilities of cyclone formation, ranging from 15 to 35%. Rain and severe weather risk increasing Regardless of whether or not tropical cyclones form near Australia this week, the presence of the monsoon trough and multiple tropical low pressure systems will generate widespread rain across northern Australia. Some computer models also suggest that at least one of this week’s eastern low pressure systems will drag heavy rain over central and southeast Qld towards the end of the week. The map below shows how much rain one computer model is predicting over Australia this week, highlighting the potential for heavy rain in northern Australia and eastern Qld. Image: Forecast accumulated rain this week, according to the ECMWF model. Source: Weatherzone. If tropical cyclones do develop this week, parts of northern and eastern Australia could experience intense rain, flash flooding, damaging to destructive winds, large waves and coastal inundation. Active tropical cyclone season for Australia This week’s increased tropical cyclone potential continues an active 2025-26 tropical cyclone season to date. Since the start of November 2025, nine tropical cyclones have formed inside, or moved into the Australian region. This is already roughly equal to the long-term average number of cyclones for a typical season, which runs until the end of April. This week has the potential to add several more tropical cyclones to the season’s tally. The next four tropical cyclones to form inside Australia's area of responsibility will be named: Narelle Oran Peta Riordan