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High pressure over southeast Australia is directing cold winds and showers along coastal parts of NSW and Queensland, while maintaining dry conditions across the interior. Low pressure over western WA is enhancing storms across the northwest and western inland areas.
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Today, 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.
16 Sep 2026, 5:24AM UTC
Extreme fire danger after Darwin's hottest day of the year
A fire weather warning for extreme fire danger in the Darwin and Adelaide River district of the Northern Territory is in effect this Wednesday, as numerous fires burn in the immediate vicinity of the NT capital. The NT government has two main categories for non-structural fires in the outdoors – bushfires, and grass and scrub fires – and both types of fires were burning this Wednesday. Image: Bushfire smoke can be seen near Katherine and southeast of Darwin at 2 pm (ACST) on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, Source: Weatherzone. Let's take a look at the short-term and long-term weather conditions in Darwin which have fuelled today's extreme fire danger near the city. Seasonal factors: dry season was even drier than usual While minimal rainfall is expected during the middle of the year in Darwin, the city has still received less than usual to date in the 2026 dry season. As of this Wednesday, September 16, Darwin has received just 7 mm of rainfall since the commencement of the official dry season on May 1. May typically sees 20.0 mm of rainfall on average, but Darwin received just 2.2 mm. Rainfall in what southerners call the "winter" months of June, July and August is almost negligible in Darwin. But it's still worth mentioning that both July and August were bone dry in Darwin this year. So far in September, just 1.8 mm of rainfall has been recorded. The long-term monthly average is 16.8 mm. Darwin’s average monthly maximums and minimums were both around one degree above average during each of June, July and August. The above differences from the average are relatively marginal (especially the rainfall deficiencies, given you are starting from such a low base). But these factors have nonetheless dried out the Top End landscape a little more than usual. This week's weather: southeasterly winds bring heat to the Top End Darwin hit 36°C on Sunday, its hottest day of the year to date, while this Wednesday marks the seventh straight day that Darwin's maximum has exceeded September's average high of 32.7°C by at least a degree. Interestingly, the same weather system which has pushed chilly winds to the southeast corner of the country is largely responsible for Wednesday's extreme Top End fire danger. Image: Synoptic chart for September 16, 2026. Source: Weatherzone. In the wake of a cold front that passed over the southeast corner of the country, air circulating anti-clockwise around the high pressure system continues to funnel chilly air with polar origins onto Tasmania and the southeastern mainland. But as the air moves inland and continues to circulate around the high, it gains warmth from the interior of the continent and is very warm by the time it reaches the Top End. Southeasterly winds are also gusty in the Top End this Wednesday, with gusts exceeding 50 km/h recorded in most NT forecast districts. It all adds up to the classic recipe for Top End fire danger, and with more hot weather and no significant rain on the horizon for the next week, it's likely that further fire danger warnings will be issued. You can monitor the location and status of fires on the NT Fire Incident Map.
16 Sep 2026, 12:27AM UTC
Six-metre waves and cold southerly winds sweep up Australia's east coast
Maximum wave heights nearing six metres were recorded near Sydney on Wednesday morning as cold and blustery southerly winds caused a sharp temperature drop along Australia’s east coast. The satellite images below show a large field of speckled cloud spreading over the Tasman Sea on Wednesday morning. This cloud pattern is a typical feature in the cooler months of the year and occurs when cold Southern Ocean air moves over comparatively warmer waters in the mid-latitudes. Image: Visible satellite images captured on Wednesday morning. Source: Weatherzone. This cold Southern Ocean air is being driven north by a surge of strong southerly winds sandwiched between a high pressure system centred over the Great Australian Bight and a low pressure system near New Zealand. Big waves hitting NSW coast The powerful winds blowing over the Tasman Sea are generating large waves along the NSW coast. A waverider buoy located off the coast of Sydney’s Northern Beaches registered a maximum wave height of 5.7 metres early on Wednesday morning. Further north, 5.9 metre waves were also detected near Crowdy Head at 9 am AEST. Wave heights will increase along the northern half of the NSW coast and in southeast Qld on Wednesday afternoon into Thursday morning. A hazardous surf warning is in place for the Hunter Coast and Sydney Coast on Wednesday, meaning surf and swell conditions are expected to be hazardous for coastal activities such as rock fishing, boating, and swimming. Windy and cold along the coast The blustery southerly winds that are whipping up large waves in the Tasman Sea are also causing temperatures to plummet along Australia's east coast. Wind gusts reached 100 km/h at Gabo Island, 80 km/h at Green Cape and 76 km/h at Wattamolla early on Wednesday morning. Gusts also reached 72 km/h at Cape Byron shortly before 5:30am on Wednesday as the southerly change swept along the north coast of NSW before continuing into southeast Queensland. Image: Forecast wind gusts at 7 pm AEST on Wednesday, September 16, 2026. Source: Weatherzone. Sydney’s apparent temperature, which accounts for the impact of wind chill, was around 5°C at 8am on Wednesday, while Byron Bay felt like 10°C at 8:30am. Looking ahead, the southerly change will continue moving towards the north on Wednesday and Thursday, causing showers and cooler southerly winds to spread up the central and north coasts of Queensland. Conditions will ease along the east coast during Thursday and Friday as the high pressure system moves across southeastern Australia from the Bight. This will allow wind and waves to ease as temperatures rebound and quickly warm up for the weekend. Sydney’s maximum temperatures are forecast to jump from 17°C on Wednesday to 28°C by Saturday. Brisbane is predicted to reach 24°C on Thursday and Friday but could warm to 30°C on Saturday. This temperature see-saw is a typical feature of spring along Australia’s east coast.