Australian Weather

Today, 1:30AM UTC

Darwin is forecast to reach 36°C this Thursday, which would make it the hottest day of 2026 to date by well over a degree. Darwin’s hottest days to date in 2026 were April 1 and 2, both of which reached 34.5°C Darwin’s average April maximum (in records dating back to 1941) is 32.8°C. So today should be around three degrees warmer. Darwin’s April record is 36.7°C, set on this day in 2003. Why is Darwin hotter than usual this Thursday? The official Top End wet season runs from November to the end of April, but April is only a quarter as wet on average than Darwin’s rainiest month of January. Clear skies are much more common late in the wet season, and today’s sunshine will be accompanied by warm southeasterly winds. In the other Australian capital cities, southeasterlies generally mean relatively cool and/or showery conditions. But in the Top End, southeasterlies tend to bring warm, dry winds from the interior of the Northern Territory. Interestingly, inland NT towns like Katherine (approx. 300 km SE of Darwin, forecast Thursday maximum 36°C) and Tennant Creek (approx. 1000km SE of Darwin, forecast Thursday maximum 33°C) likely won’t be any hotter than Darwin this Thursday. Image: Forecast maximums for Thursday, April 16, 2026, according to the ACCESS-G model, showing the location of Tennant Creek and Katherine in relation to Darwin. Source: Weatherzone. It’s a bit like those occasional days when Sydney is as hot as towns in outback New South Wales when northwesterly winds funnel heat directly towards the low-lying Sydney basin. But it’s not dry everywhere in the NT this Thursday The remnants of ex-Tropical Cyclone Maila continue to affect parts of Queensland and are now also impacting Arnhem Land in the northeastern corner of the NT. The loop below shows moisture approaching the Arnhem Land coastline early on Thursday morning. Image: Four-hour combined radar and satellite loop over the Northern Territory to 10:30am on Thursday, April 16, 2026. (ACST) Source: Weatherzone. There’s quite a stark contrast in relative humidity across the Top End This Thursday, which you can see illustrated in the image below. Orange and yellow colours represent low humidity, with greens and blues indicating high humidity levels. The boundary between the two airmasses is called a dry line. Image: Relative humidity in the Top End on Thursday, April 16, 2026. Source: Weatherzone. A run of days with maximums closer to the April average of 32.8°C is expected in Darwin after this Thursday, with showers and storms increasingly likely as the moisture drifts westwards.

15 Apr 2026, 3:53AM UTC

On a dry autumn day across the vast majority of the continent, relatively small but intense areas of rain are dampening two corners of the country more than 3,000 kilometres apart. Australia’s weather this Wednesday is dominated by a large high pressure system centred over the Cameron Corner area – where New South Wales, South Australia and Queensland meet. That system is causing stable conditions in most areas. But rain fell in Perth and nearby parts of Western Australia overnight and into Wednesday morning, while rain continues on Wednesday afternoon in Far North Queensland due to the remnants of ex-Tropical Cyclone Maila. Let’s break down the current weather conditions in southwest WA and Far North Queensland: Handy rainfall in Perth An upper level trough generated healthy rainfall totals for April in Perth early this morning, with 11.6mm recorded in the city and similar or even slightly higher totals in some suburbs. This was: Perth’s first rainfall to date in April 2026 after two dry weeks. Just the second day this year with a double-digit rainfall total, after the exceptionally heavy fall (for early autumn) of 62.8mm on March 28, which was associated with the remnants of ex-Tropical Cyclone Narelle. Image: Four-hour radar loop showing showers and storms approaching Perth early in the hours of Wednesday, April 15, 2026. Source: Weatherzone. The rain in Perth this Wednesday fell in a relatively narrow band moving in a southeasterly direction. Some inland areas in the wheat belt also got a soaking, including 22.4mm at Quairading, a small town about 170km east of the state capital. Only very light falls were recorded south of Perth in the South West and South Coastal forecast districts. Looking ahead, scattered showers and storms are again possible for parts of central and southern WA on Thursday as another upper trough moves in. Showers are then likely on Friday into Saturday across the southwest as a cold front clips the corner of the continent, however rainfall totals should be relatively light. Wet from Cape York to Mackay In the diagonally opposite corner of the country, rainfall totals exceeding 40mm were recorded at weather stations along the coast from Lockhart River on the east coast of Cape York all the way to Mackay, nearly 1500km south. The heaviest rainfall totals in the 24 hours to 9am were along the stretch of coastline from Cairns to Tully (about 140m south of Cairns) and the adjacent ranges. The heaviest fall in the region was 95mm at Topaz, a weather station on the North Johnstone River near Innisfail. Image: Eight-hour radar loop for Queensland up to 1pm (AEST) on Wednesday, April 15, 2026. Source: Weatherzone. As the radar loop above shows, rainfall is still surging across the coastline, with the likelihood of significant falls reaching central parts of the state in coming days Fun fact: which Australian cities are furthest apart in a straight line? Technically, Darwin and Hobart are the two Australian cities which are furthest apart, with around 3700 kilometres between them as the crow flies. But if you’re measuring the distance between mainland cities (whether they’re capitals or regional cities), then it's hard to beat the 3600 kilometres that separate the Gold Coast and Perth. Perth and Cairns come close at around 3400km. It’s not often that the two main focal points on any given day of Australian weather are two mainland cities which are so far apart.