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A dominant high over southeastern Australia directs gusty winds and showers into western Tas, northeast NSW and eastern Qld, while bringing a chilly night with clear and dry conditions. Warm winds are being drawn into WA ahead of an approaching cold front.
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Today, 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. 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.
17 Sep 2026, 3:18AM UTC
East coast dry spell intensifies as El Niño maintains near-record strength
Much of Australia's east coast and adjacent inland areas remain in the grip of a prolonged spell of dry weather after the first two weeks of spring, on the back of an exceptionally dry winter. Let's examine some charts and statistics that illustrate the ongoing rainfall deficiencies in Queensland, NSW and Victoria's East Gippsland region, before examining some of the drivers of the dry conditions, including El Niño. Queensland: relentless dry continues in most east coast areas south of the tropics Image: Queensland rainfall deciles for winter 2026. Source: BoM. At the start of September, we reported that just 9.8 mm of rainfall was recorded across the whole of winter in Rockhampton in Queensland's Capricornia district (just south of the southern extent of the Great Barrier Reef). While winter is typically quite dry in the region, that was still only 10% of Rockhampton's seasonal average, and the city is yet to record a single drop of rain this spring with no rain in the forecast for the rest of this week. Brisbane has recorded less than a millimetre of rain to date in September, after below-average rainfall in each month of winter. One area which has caught some meaningful rain in September is the Sunshine Coast (Tewantin, near Noosa, has had 50 mm), but this region is very much the exception for the Queensland coast south of the tropics. New South Wales: dry spell continues in all eastern areas except the far North Coast Image: NSW rainfall deciles for winter 2026. Source: BoM. Bega is just one of many locations on the state's far south coast that had a desperately dry winter, with just 26.6 mm across June, July and August. That was just over 20% of the long-term seasonal average of 128.3 mm. To date in September, just 1mm of rainfall has registered in Bega's gauge. Sydney has received just 6.2 mm to date in September, after below-average rainfall in each of the three winter months (and the two months before that). One NSW coastal spot which has caught some meaningful rain in September is the far North Coast (Ballina leads the way with 48.4 mm) but this region is very much the exception for the entire NSW coastline. Victoria: no significant spring relief yet for far eastern tip of the state Image: Vic rainfall deciles for winter 2026. Source: BoM. In our story at the start of September, we mentioned that the East Gippsland town of Mallacoota (which lost more than 100 homes in Black Summer bushfires) received just 78.2 mm of rainfall in the 2026 winter. That was less than a third of its seasonal average of 244.4 mm. To date in September, 12 mm has fallen in Mallacoota, but the monthly average of 73.7 mm is looking increasingly distant, with only a very light shower in the forecast for the next week. Melbourne has also been relatively dry this September so far with 12.6 mm recorded to date, although it's worth mentioning that Melbourne had slightly above-average rainfall in the 2026 winter. As illustrated in the image at the top of this section, the Victorian capital is part of the large chunk of Victoria that dodged the winter 2026 eastern Australian dry spell. Why eastern Australia was so dry in the 2026 winter Over the course of the 2026 winter, moisture associated with numerous northwest cloudbands dampened large parts of southern and central Australia, as well as inland parts of eastern Australia, fuelled by tropical air masses that travelled all the way from the Indian Ocean. Moisture from these systems often petered out before crossing the Great Dividing Range, which is one reason why the east coast was so dry during winter. It's also highly likely that El Niño played a role in the east coast dry spell, as it typically makes the region drier in winter and early spring. This occurs because El Niño weakens the trade winds that blow moisture-laden air towards the country from the tropical Pacific Ocean. The most recent reading of the Relative Niño3.4 Index (week ending September 13) stands at 2.51. The strongest on record was 2.65. The index indicates how unusually warm or cool the central equatorial Pacific Ocean is compared to the average temperature of all global tropical oceans. Image: The relative Niño3.4 Index as at September 13, 2026. Source: BoM. How El Niño could extend the ongoing dry spell We are now entering a potentially dangerous time of the year, with the bushfire risk increasing in eastern Australia as the landscape continues to dry out and seasonal temperatures inevitably creep upwards. Image: The BoM's season rainfall outlook for October 2026. Source: BoM. At present, October is expected to be drier than usual across most areas mentioned in this story, according to the BoM. The good news is that the outlook starts to change in November, when wetter weather is predicted. It's also worth reiterating a point made by Weatherzone meteorologist Ben Domensino earlier this month, when he argued that warm seas near Australia could counteract El Niño’s drying effect this spring. That's because warmer-than-average water near Australia can supply the atmosphere with additional moisture via enhanced evaporation, which can counteract the drying influence of El Niño. Farmers, firefighters and all residents of Australia's east coast will be hoping for significant rainfall soon, before the current dry spell escalates into a widespread severe drought.
17 Sep 2026, 1:33AM UTC
Spring freeze sends temperatures below zero across five states
A spring chill is gripping southeastern Australia this week, with temperatures dropping below zero degrees in five states and territories on Thursday morning. A cold and dry air mass combined with relatively light winds and clear skies over southeastern Australia on Wednesday night. This combination allowed for efficient radiative cooling near the surface, which caused temperatures to plummet. By the early hours of Thursday morning, temperatures had dropped to around -7°C in parts of New South Wales and -5°C in Victoria. Parts of NSW, Victoria, the ACT, Tasmania and SA registered temperatures lower than 0°C on Thursday morning. The coldest place in the country was -6.9°C at Goulburn Airport in NSW, which was Goulburn’s lowest spring temperature since September 2017. Image: Lowest minimum temperatures in NSW, Vic, ACT, Tas and SA on Thursday, September 17, 2026. Source: Weatherzone. While winds were light enough for frost to form over a broad area of Australia's southeast mainland on Wednesday night into Thursday morning, conditions were cloudier and windier in Tas and coastal areas of Vic and NSW. Wind gusts reached close to 100 km/h in exposed areas of southwest Tasmania on Thursday morning, with the weather station at Maatsuyker Island clocking a 98 km/h gust shortly after 9:30am. In Sydney, winds gusting at around 30 to 40 km/h on Thursday morning made the temperature feel like 2.5°C at 6 am and still only 5°C by 8 am – a wintry shock for any underdressed commuters. Image: Canberra observations since midnight in the Weatherzone app, as of 11:50 am AEST on Thursday, September 17, 2026. Source: Weatherzone. Some of the cold air that sent shivers across southeastern Australia on Thursday morning even reached northern Queensland. Cairns registered a minimum temperature of 12.4°C early Thursday, which was around 6°C below average and its lowest spring temperature since September 2019. Minimum temperatures will increase over the next few mornings as warmer air returns to southeastern Australia on the western flank of a high pressure system. This change in air masses will also cause days to become increasingly warmer, with some areas in the country’s southeast likely to have their warmest days in four-to-five months this weekend.