There are no active warnings for this location.
Weather Maps
Daily Forecast
Bands of cloud, patchy rain and storms with low pressure troughs over WA and stretching from the NT and WA to Vic and Tas. Very warm to hot ahead of the trough while a high pressure ridge keeps much of eastern QLD and northern NSW rain free. Another high is clearing southern WA.
Latest Warnings
AUS
Latest News
Christmas Day Weather Forecast
Climate Updates
Latest News
19 Dec 2025, 9:53PM UTC
Burst of severe weather over southeast on Sunday
A low pressure system will rapidly amplify over Victoria and nearby regions on Sunday, bringing heavy rain, strong winds and storms. Southern Australia continues to be dominated by a trough that divides hot air to the north and cooler air to the south. When a low drifting in from the Australian Bight reaches this unstable zone on Sunday, it will quickly intensify. Rain and storms over northwest Vic and adjacent SA Sunday morning will spread east during the afternoon and become heavy. Eastern Victoria and adjacent NSW is also where the strongest winds will occur. Gales with gusts over 120km/h are expected for parts of the southeast coast and the alpine areas before the low moves out over the Tasman Sea. Gusts over 90km/h are also possible for the NSW tablelands further north as the low forces powerful westerly winds over the ranges. Rainfall totals will peak over near alpine areas with widespread 12-hr falls of 30-60mm and some isolated falls of near 100mm, mostly falling in around 6 hours during Sunday afternoon. Further afield, widespread 24-hr rain of 20-30mm is expected across large areas of Victoria and the southwestern inland half of NSW as the low helps brew storms and rain near the lingering trough. Similar totals are also possible for northeast Tasmania as the low grazes the region on its way past. Once the low moves away early Monday morning, the blustery weather will not be over for southern parts, with a series of cold fronts bringing gusty showers to southern Victoria and Tasmania on Tuesday and Wednesday. The cold air with these fronts will lower the snow level, especially over the Apple Isle. While the initial air behind the low on Sunday night/Monday morning will only be cool enough to bring the odd snow shower above about 1700-1800m, by Tuesday morning the snow level will have lowered to 1000m over Tasmania: a white Christmas Eve for those up high. Image: Forecast 10-m wind gust animation from Sunday morning to evening, according to Access-C Victoria/Tasmania. Source: Weatherzone. Image: Forecast temperature and wind at around 5000ft above the surface, showing the hot-cold north-south divide and strong winds near the low. Wind at this level is often a good proxy for surface wind gust strength outside alpine areas and shows greater than 50 knots (90km/h) over parts of eastern Vic and NSW. Source: Weatherzone. Image: Forecast storm potential according to GFS, 3-hrly rainfall and 10-minute wind according to ECMWF at 2pm Sunday afternoon, showing a swath of stormy rain extending from Vic to southern Qld and the NT. Source: Weatherzone.
19 Dec 2025, 3:27AM UTC
Sydney hits 42.2°C, its equal hottest December day on record
Sydney is having its hottest day in seven years and its equal hottest December day on record after the mercury soared to 42.2°C. Westerly winds and clear skies have allowed an extremely hot air mass to be driven across the Sydney Basin today, Friday December 19, 2025. This heat was exacerbated by two things: The Foehn effect – where the air heated as it descended the eastern slopes of the Blue Mountains. The Urban heat island effect – additional heating caused by man-made materials across the Sydney Basin, including roads, airports, tiled roofs and concrete buildings. The heat arrived early in the day, with the city’s main weather station at Observatory Hill already reaching 34°C by 10am. Then at 1:35pm, the mercury hit 42.2°C. Image: Sydney’s minimum and maximum temperatures over the last 5 days, showing a warming trend culminating in Friday’s 42.2°C. Source: Weatherzone. Friday’s maximum of 42.2°C was Sydney’s hottest day since January 7, 2018. It was also the equal hottest December day in records dating back to 1859, matching the same reading on December 20, 1957. Friday was also Canberra’s hottest day in five years, with the city reaching 39.4°C.
19 Dec 2025, 2:45AM UTC
Who will have Australia’s hottest and coldest Christmas this year?
Christmas Day is always a mixed bag of weather across Australia, and this year will be no different, with temperatures likely to range from 0°C in one state to the mid-40s in another, while widespread rain and thunderstorms soak at least two states. The weather pattern over Australia on Christmas ay this year will feature a high pressure system to the south of the country and a series of low pressure troughs over northern and eastern Australia. The high to Australia’s south will cause a big range of temperatures across Australia on Christmas Day, while the troughs will bring rain and storms. Cool in the southeast Cool southwesterly winds on the eastern flank of the high will keep temperatures relatively low in Tasmania and other parts of southeastern Australia on Christmas Day. Minimum temperatures in Tasmania could drop to around 0°C in the state’s Central Highlands on Christmas morning, most likely around the Liawenee area. Even Hobart could see the temperature dip below 10°C on Christmas morning. Hot in the west Meanwhile, a few thousand kilometres away, much warmer winds flowing around the northeastern quadrant of the high pressure system will cause temperatures to soar in WA this Christmas. Maximum temperatures are likely to reach the mid-40s in WA’s Pilbara district on December 25. This hot air will also spread down the state’s west coast, with the temperature expected to reach around 40°C in Perth. Prior to this year, Perth has only reached 40°C five time on Christmas Day, the most recent of these also being the city’s hottest Christmas Day on record when the mercury hit 42.8°C in 2021. Image: Forecast maximum temperatures across Australia on Christmas Day. Image: Weatherzone. Between the cool weather in Tas and the heat in WA, temperatures could range by around 45°C between the hottest and coldest places in Australia on Christmas Day this year. Rain in the north Another standout weather feature in Christmas Day this year will be tropical moisture feeding into a series of low pressure troughs across Qld, the NT and northern WA. Widespread rain and storms are likely to occur across these areas, extending from the Kimberley in WA all the way down to central or southeast Qld. The map below shows how much rain one computer model is predicting over Australia on Christmas Day. Image: Forecast accumulated rain on Christmas Day according to the ECMWF model. Source: Weatherzone. Christmas Day forecast for Australia’s capital cities Sydney – Mostly cloudy with a possible shower and fresh southeasterly winds. Temperatures ranging from 19°C to 25°C. Melbourne – Mostly cloudy with clearing showers and fresh southwesterly winds. Temperatures ranging from 13°C to 18°C. Brisbane – Warm and mostly cloudy with showers and the chance of thunderstorms. Southwesterly winds tending northeasterly. Temperatures ranging from 23°C to 32°C. Perth – Hot and mostly sunny with northeasterly winds tending southwesterly. Temperatures ranging from 25°C to 40°C. Adelaide – Mostly sunny with southeasterly winds. Temperatures ranging from 13°C to 27°C. Canberra – Mostly sunny with northwesterly winds tending fresh easterly. Temperatures ranging from 11°C to 29°C. Hobart – Mostly cloudy with a late shower. Strong southwesterly winds. Temperatures ranging from 9°C to 17°C. Darwin – Cloudy with showers and the chance of thunderstorms. Northwesterly winds. Temperatures ranging from 26°C to 32°C. Image: Christmas Day forecast, valid at 1pm AEDT on December 19, 2025. Source: Weatherzone.