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Unstable air ahead of a cold front crossing SW WA is bringing gusty winds and the odd storm inland, whilst the front brings strong winds and showers. A high over SE Australia will bring a chilly night with clear and dry conditions inland over the most the of country.
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Today, 6:04AM UTC
A Brief Burst of Summer Sweeps Across the Southeast
Summer is making an early appearance across parts of South Australia, New South Wales and Victoria this Sunday, with temperatures set to soar into the mid-30s. September has already been unusually warm across Australia's southern states, with the persistent warmth contributing to an early end to the ski season at all resorts apart from Perisher Valley. Another burst of heat is on the way A very warm to hot airmass is pushing eastwards across the southern states this weekend, ahead of a cold front currently moving through southern Western Australia. Image: A very warm to hot airmass with temperatures in the low to mid-30's (figures shown in pink boxes) precede a cold front passing over southern Western Australia as seen in the satellite imagery at 2:55pm AEST Sat 19 Sept 2026. Source: Weatherzone. Temperatures have already surged into the 30s across southeast Western Australia and South Australia this afternoon, sitting around 9–10°C above the September average. The warmth extends into Victoria too, with temperatures running well above normal for this time of year. At 2:30pm ACST, Ceduna had reached 32.2°C, a remarkable 10.6°C above average for September. Nullarbor was even warmer at 32.9°C, sitting 10.2°C above the September average. Heat spreads into eastern Australia As the cold front moves into South Australia, the hot airmass will push into inland eastern South Australia, western New South Wales and northwest Victoria, delivering a brief taste of summer on Sunday. Daytime temperatures are forecast to reach 8-12°C above the September average, with widespread low to mid-30s expected across the region. Image: Forecast maximum temperatures (coloured shading) and mean sea level pressure (white lines) for 4pm AEST 20 September 2026. Maxima in the mid 30's are forecast over inland eastern SA, western NSW and northwest Victoria. Source: Weatherzone. Some locations are set to feel more like midsummer than early spring. In South Australia, Port Augusta is forecast to reach 34°C, Coober Pedy 36°C and Oodnadatta 37°C. Across New South Wales, Tibooburra is forecast to reach 34°C and Broken Hill 32°C. In Victoria, Mildura is expected to climb to 34°C, while Swan Hill reaches 31°C. But the summer-like warmth won't last. Cooler conditions will sweep back across southeast Australia on Monday as the cold front pushes through, bringing a sharp end to the brief burst of heat. For parts of the southeast, it will be a taste of summer — but only for a day.
18 Sep 2026, 2:05AM UTC
One ski resort still open despite record low mid-September snow depth
Perisher in New South Wales is the last Australian ski resort with a few ski lifts still operating, and it has announced plans to try to stay open until next Friday, September 25, despite a record low snow depth for mid-September at nearby Spencers Creek. This will be good news for Queensland travellers who are venturing south for the first week of the Queensland school holidays – with Queensland public schools breaking up this Friday afternoon. It is also testament to the efforts of the Perisher snowmaking team, who have taken advantage of three sub-zero nights this week after a very light natural snowfall to activate the resort's snow guns at a time of year when they are normally switched off for the season. Snowy Hydro records snow depth of just 10.5 cm at Spencers Creek Hydro-electric operator Snowy Hydro has measured snow depths since 1954 at three sites in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales. This data set is regarded as the most comprehensive historical gauge of snow seasons in the Australian Alps. The highest Snowy Hydro site is Spencers Creek, at an elevation of 1830 metres, roughly halfway between the two largest NSW ski areas of Perisher and Thredbo. The latest Spencers Creek reading, taken this Thursday, September 17, was 10.5 cm. Image: Comparison of the 2006 (light blue) and 2026 (dark blue) snow seasons at Spencers Creek, NSW. Source: Snowy Hydro. The image above shows a comparison of Spencers Creek snow depths in the 2026 Australian snow season (to date) alongside the complete 2006 season. 2006 registered the lowest peak depth on record of 85.1 cm, and while the 2026 season slightly exceeded that mark with a reading of 94.5 cm on August 13, this season started later and is ending earlier. 2026 Australian snow depth historically low at lower elevations The picture of the 2026 Australian snow season is even more stark at Deep Creek, the mid-elevation Snowy Hydro site, at an elevation of 1620 metres. Image: Comparison of the 2006 (light blue) and 2026 (dark blue) snow seasons at Deep Creek, NSW. Source: Snowy Hydro. Not only has the 2026 season been considerably shorter than the meagre 2006 snow season, the peak depth this year was just 8.3 cm compared to 23.2 cm in 2006. This was Deep Creek's lowest measured season peak on record. The lowest Snowy Hydro site, Three Mile Dam at 1460 metres, also had its thinnest snowpack on record, with a 2026 season high recorded at just 5.5 cm on August 11. While debates will rage about which Australian snow season was the absolute worst since Snowy Hydro regularly started collecting data in 1954, 2026 was among the poorest on record by any measure. Why has the 2026 Australian snow season been so poor? The ongoing strong El Niño was a factor, as this major climate driver tends to suppress cloud and rainfall across large parts of Australia, especially the eastern half, which in turn often leads to warmer daytime temperatures. Unseasonable weather patterns also brought unusually warm air masses to southeastern Australia several times this winter, especially during June when the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) was in a strongly positive phase. The SAM is a climate driver which influences the north-south displacement of the belt of powerful winds which flow year-round from west to east over the Southern Ocean, relative to where it would normally be positioned at a given time of year. The strongly positive SAM in June meant that that the belt of westerlies was further south than usual, which resulted in fewer cold fronts reaching southeastern Australia than you'd typically expect. Above-average sea surface temperatures around Australia also played a role in the diminished snowpack throughout the season, as air absorbs some of the heat when it passes over warmer-than-average water. The global and localised warming trend associated with climate change was another ingredient which helped turn what might have been a mediocre snow season by historical standards into one of the worst on record. Are any fresh snowfalls on the horizon for the rest of September? Image: The mostly bare slopes of Thredbo on Thursday, September 17, 2026, a time of year when at least the upper half of the mountain is usually still skiable. Source: Rusty J. At this stage, there are no snow-bearing system appearing on either the short-term forecast charts or the charts extending out to the end of the month generated my various international and Australian models. Perisher is likely to see daytime maximums above 10°C for the next week, while nights cold enough for snowmaking look unlikely, meaning the current conditions will be about as good as it gets for the remainder of the 2026 season on the five remaining open ski lifts. Please check the latest forecasts, live cam images and more on the Weatherzone snow page.
18 Sep 2026, 1:39AM UTC
Spring equinox 2026: Days about to become longer than nights in Australia
Australia is about to pass an annual daylight milestone, with days set to become longer than nights across the country as the spring equinox approaches. What is the equinox? Earth’s orientation relative to the Sun changes throughout the year because Earth has an axial tilt of about 23.4 degrees relative to its orbital plane around the Sun. Earth’s axial tilt means that Earth's Northern Hemisphere is tilted more towards the Sun for half the year, while the Southern Hemisphere becomes more tilted towards the Sun during the other half of the year. This changing orientation relative to the Sun is what causes our seasons. Image: Earth’s axial tilt relative to the Sun, which is around 23.4 degrees, changes how much the Northern and Southern Hemispheres are oriented towards and away from the Sun throughout the year. This tilt causes the seasons on Earth. Source: Weatherzone. The summer and winter solstices, which happen in December and June, mark the dates on which each hemisphere reaches its furthest tilt towards and away from the Sun. In between these two dates are the equinoxes – in March and September – when Earth’s axial tilt is oriented neither toward nor away from the Sun. The Sun appears to sit directly above Earth’s equator on the date of the equinox, which causes roughly equal lengths of day and night for most of the planet. Image: Approximate sunrise, sunset and day length times on the date of the Southern Hemisphere’s spring equinox in 2026. Source: Weatherzone. Day and night not exactly equal on the equinox While day and night are almost equal in length on the date of the equinox, they aren’t quite the same. There is a bit more daylight than darkness on the equinox for two main reasons: Sunrise and sunset are defined as the moment the top edge of the Sun reaches Earth’s horizon. Because the Sun’s face appears as a large disc and not a single point, it takes several minutes for the full face of the Sun to rise and set. This adds a bit of extra daylight at either end of the day. If sunrise and sunset were defined as the moment when the centre of the Sun reached the horizon, then day and night would be closer to equal length on the date of the equinox. Earth’s atmosphere bends light. This means sunlight is visible even when the Sun is just below the horizon, which helps make the day longer in terms of light. Night and day are closer in length a few days before the equinox. This date, which varies depending on latitude, is called the equilux. Image: Sunrise and sunset times in Melbourne on the date of the spring equinox. See sunrise and sunset times for your area in the Daily Forecast on the Weatherzone app. The 2026 spring equilux will occur this weekend in Sydney and Melbourne, with Saturday having the closest amount of time for day and night in Sydney and Sunday for Melbourne. Days will start getting longer than nights across Australia following the equilux, and this trend will continue for the next three months until the summer solstice in late December.