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A trough and a stream of tropical moisture are causing thunderstorms and heavy showers over the tropics and drawing heavy rain and thunderstorms into SA, and western NSW. A front brings showers to eastern Vic & southeast NSW. Westerly winds bring showers to western Tas.
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Today, 4:01AM UTC
Queensland bracing for severe tropical cyclone
A tropical cyclone is likely to hit northern Queensland later this week, with the Bureau of Meteorology predicting a category three severe tropical cyclone to make landfall in the state’s north. Tropical low gaining strength A tropical low is currently gaining strength over the northern Coral Sea. At 10am AEST, this low was located about 890 km to the east northeast of Willis Island, approximately 1,300 km off the Qld coast. Image: Visible satellite image showing the tropical low spinning over the Coral Sea on Tuesday. March 17, 2026. Source: Weatherzone. The low pressure system is expected to move towards the west over the next few days, likely gaining strength as it traverses the warm northern Coral Sea and heads towards Qld. Landfall in Qld possible later this week The Bureau of Meteorology expects the system to become a tropical cyclone by Wednesday and reach category three strength on Thursday or Friday. Based on the Bureau’s current forecast track, this system could approach the eastern side of the Cape York Peninsula as a category three severe tropical cyclone on Thursday or Friday. Some forecast guidance even suggests this system could make landfall as a category four tropical cyclone. If this system does make landfall as a severe tropical cyclone, it would be capable of causing: Destructive winds with sustained wind speeds possibly reaching 140 to 160 km/h Heavy rainfall causing flash flooding Large waves and abnormally high tides that could cause flooding in low-lying coastal areas Northern Territory next in line After crossing the Cape York Peninsula and briefly weakening later this week, computer models suggest the system could reintensify over the warm Gulf of Carpentaria and make a second landfall over the eastern Top End in the Northern Territory over the weekend. It’s too early to know with much confidence where the system will move beyond the weekend. However, some models predict that it will weaken while tracking over the Top End and Kimberley early next week before passing to the north of Western Australia and regaining strength in the middle of next week. If this happens, it may also cause tropical cyclone impacts in parts of northern WA next week. This system has the potential to cause severe weather in three states this week and next week, so anyone in northern Australia should pay close attention to the latest tropical cyclone advisories and track maps to stay up to date with the most accurate information. If this system does become a tropical cyclone, it will be named Narelle.
Today, 12:09AM UTC
Autumnal equinox almost here – what this means for Australia
The Southern Hemisphere’s autumnal equinox will occur later this week, marking the date when day and night are roughly equal in length across Australia. What is the equinox? There are two equinoxes each year, one in March and another in September. Each equinox marks the moment the Sun appears to be positioned directly above Earth’s equator. This happens because Earth’s axis is tilted neither towards nor away from the Sun at the equinox. At all other times of the year, the Earth’s Southern and Northern Hemispheres are either tilted towards or away from the Sun. Image: Earth’s orientation relative to the Sun on the date of the equinoxes. Source: Weatherzone. Following the equinox in March, the Sun appears to become positioned above the Northern Hemisphere as Earth’s North Pole becomes tilted towards the Sun. By contrast, Earth's South Pole tilts away from the Sun after the March equinox. This year’s March equinox will occur at 2:46 pm UTC on Friday, March 20, which will be Friday night or early Saturday morning in Australia. Almost equal day and night Day and night are nearly equal in length for most places on Earth on the date of the equinox. However, the March equinox day is slightly longer than its night for two main reasons: Sunrise and sunset are defined as the moments the top edge of the Sun reaches Earth’s horizon at the start and end of each day. Because the Sun’s face is a large disc and not a single point, it takes several minutes for the 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 March equinox. Earth’s atmosphere bends light. This means sunlight is visible even when the Sun is just below the horizon. For most places on Earth, day and night are closest to equal length a few days after the March equinox, on a date called the equilux. This year’s autumnal equilux will fall between March 23 and 29 for most of Australia. Following the equilux, nights will be longer than days in Australia for around six months, until the next equilux occur in late September. With the March equinox almost upon us, this also means that cooler temperatures and more wintry weather are on the horizon for Australia.
16 Mar 2026, 3:17AM UTC
Uluru’s wettest day in a decade as heavy rain targets central Australia
More than 100 mm of rain has fallen at Uluru over the last two days as a plume of tropical moisture fuels unusually heavy rain in central Australia. The rain and thunderstorms have been soaking parts of central Australia since Saturday as a broad low pressure trough draws tropical moisture across the Red Centre. The slow-moving nature of this trough, combined with copious atmospheric moisture, is resulting in substantial rainfall in some areas. Torrential rain at Uluru Yulara Airport, near Uluru, received 76.4 mm during the 24 hours ending at 9am on Monday, which was its wettest day in a decade. Another 34.4 mm of rain then fell between 9am and midday on Monday, making more than 100 mm in less than 30 hours. The rain over the last couple of days was more than three times Uluru’s entire monthly average at this time of year, with about 33 mm falling during a typical March. It’s also the first time since 2016 that Uluru has seen more than 100 mm across two consecutive days. Rain continuing this week Wet and stormy weather will continue to target central Australia into the first half of this week, affecting parts of the Northern Territory, South Australia, Queensland and New South Wales. The image below shows how much rain one computer model – the ECMWF model – is predicting over Australia this week. Image: Forecast accumulated rain during the 72 hours ending at 11pm AEDT on Wednesday, March 18, 2026. Source: Weatherzone. As of midday ACST on Monday, a severe weather warning was in place for heavy rain and flash flooding in parts of the NT’s south and southwest, including the Uluru region. Another warning was also in place for heavy, locally intense rain in the north of SA. This warning mentioned the risk of “dangerous and life-threatening flash flooding” from potential rain rates of 80 to 120 mm in six hours, most likely north of Marree during Monday night into Tuesday morning. Further severe weather warnings and flood warnings may be issued over central Australia during the next few days as ongoing heavy rain and thunderstorms continue to affect parts of the NT, SA, Qld and NSW.