Australian Weather

Today, 1:34AM UTC

A vast part of the continent will see much warmer temperatures than average for mid-autumn throughout the working week, as a broad area of high pressure dominates Australia’s weather pattern. The main exception is the southwest corner of Western Australia, where a trough has generated showers overnight, while a cold front will arrive on Thursday. That cold front will slowly push east, however it won’t impact the eastern states until the weekend, with significantly above-average maximum temperatures for this time of year at most locations from Tuesday through to at least Friday. Let’s break down the situation state by state, moving from west to east. Western Australia Perth had a wet Monday afternoon, with 8mm in the gauge in the 24 hours to 9am Tuesday. That rain should mostly clear this Tuesday, however a coolish maximum of 19°C is expected as a feed of high cloud from the northwest keeps a lid on warming. Temperatures will rise into the low twenties on Wednesday and Thursday ahead of the cold front due later on Thursday night. Image: Combined satellite and radar loop showing the feed of high cloud over large parts of WA on the morning of Tuesday, April 28, 2026. Source: Weatherzone. Northern Territory It will be business as usual for this time of year in Darwin, with a dry spell to cap off the last few days of the official 2025/2026 Top End wet season. Darwin can expect maximums around 33°C all week, which is close to the average April maximum of 32.8°C.  Alice Springs can expect maximums close to the April average of 28.4°C all week, although the mercury should rise to around 31°C on Saturday, May 2. That will be around eight degrees above the average May maximum of 23.1°C. South Australia Adelaide slightly exceeded its average March rainfall and is within a few millimetres of its average April rainfall after a desperately dry summer, but rain is still very much needed in the SA capital. The good news is a wet spell could arrive with much cooler air this weekend. Before that, expect a dry, very warm week for late April. Adelaide’s average April maximum is 22.2°C while its average May maximum is 18.6°C, but maximums will be around 28°C or 29°C from Wednesday through to Saturday. Most other parts of South Australia will also be unseasonably warm for most of the working week. Image: Temperature anomalies across Australia on Saturday, May 2, 2026, showing the sharp contrast as cool air pushes through the southwest into SA. Source: Tropical Tidbits.  Queensland Some parts of Queensland’s interior will reach maximums that are around two or three degrees above average for much of the week, although the southeast corner, including Brisbane, is one part of the state where temperatures will be close to average all week. Victoria Another warm week is in store for Melbourne and most of Victoria as the high pressure system centred over southeastern Australia drags warm air southwards from the interior of the continent. Melbourne can expect maximums in the mid-twenties from this Tuesday through to Sunday, in a pattern similar to last week, when Melbourne saw a run of six days when maximums were between 3 and 6 degrees above the average April maximum of 20.4°C. If Melbourne reaches its forecast maximum of 27°C this Friday, May 1, that would be just over 10 degrees above its average May maximum of 16.8°C. Image: Daily forecast for Melbourne, Vic, on the Weatherzone app. New South Wales/ACT Sydney has had a dry April by its standards, with just 30.8mm of rainfall received to date compared to the monthly average of 127.5mm. Mostly dry conditions should persist until the weekend, with maximums around 24°C or 25°C. The average April maximum is 22.6°C. Canberra will continue its recent pattern of cool nights with minimums of 5°C or lower, while days rise to 22°C or 23°C, which is a degree or two warmer than the average April maximum of 21.0°C.  By this Friday, May 1, some locations in western NSW could see May warmth records threatened. For example, the small town of Ivanhoe has a May high temperature record of 29.2°C, with a high of 29°C forecast for both Friday and Saturday.  Tasmania After a cooler start to the week than the mainland capitals with maximums in the teens on Tuesday and Wednesday, Hobart will have a four-day warm spell with maximums between 23°C and 25°C from Thursday through to Sunday. Given that Hobart’s average May maximum is just 14.6°C, Saturday could be more than 10 degrees above average. The rest of Tasmania also looks to be in for some unseasonable warmth.

26 Apr 2026, 1:47AM UTC

Water storage for Perth is currently at 36.6% of capacity, which is lower than any other Australian capital city, but moisture from the tropics will fuel much needed rainfall across southwest WA this week.  As seen below, a low pressure system located offshore from the Gascoyne is tapping into abundant moisture from the tropics and it will be directing that moisture over southwest WA this week. Image: Animation of water vapour imagery on 26 April 2026. Source: Weatherzone.  This moisture will fuel widespread rain across southwest WA on Monday with the potential for isolated thunderstorms and heavy falls. Precipitation will then tend to scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms across the region on Tuesday and early Wednesday. Rainfall totals of 10-30mm will be common across the Perth Metro by Wednesday morning, but isolated locations may see totals exceeding 50mm. Showers will then become rather light and isolated later Wednesday and on Thursday as a ridge of high pressure builds over southwest WA.  So far this month, Perth has received only 16mm of rainfall but the additional rainfall expected early this week could push that figure above the April average of 39mm.