Legends
Wind Speed
Description | Beaufort | kt | km/h | |
---|---|---|---|---|
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Calm - Light Winds | 0-3 | 0-10 | 0-19 |
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Moderate Winds | 4 | 11-16 | 20-30 |
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Fresh Winds | 5 | 17-21 | 31-39 |
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Strong Winds - Near Gale | 6-7 | 22-33 | 40-61 |
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Gale - Strong Gale | 8-9 | 34-47 | 62-87 |
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Storm - Hurricane | 10-12 | 48+ | 88+ |
Temperature
°C | °F |
---|---|
< -5 | < 23 |
-5 - 0 | 23 - 32 |
0 - 5 | 32 - 41 |
5 - 10 | 41 - 50 |
10 - 15 | 50 - 59 |
15 - 20 | 59 - 68 |
20 - 25 | 68 - 77 |
25 - 30 | 77 - 86 |
30 - 35 | 86 - 95 |
35 - 40 | 95 - 104 |
40 - 45 | 104 - 113 |
> 45 | > 113 |
Relative Humidity
< 25% | 25-50% | 50-75% | ≥ 75% |
Frost Risk
Nil | Low | Slight | Moderate | High | Severe |
UV / Pollen Levels
Low | Moderate | High | Very High | Extreme |
Radar/Satellite Animator Symbols
Rainfall Intensity
light | ![]() |
heavy |
The intensity of rainfall detected by weather radars is indicated using the above scale.
Doppler Wind
90km/h towards | ![]() |
90km/h away |
On Doppler radar images the radial component of the movement of particles in the air is indicated using the above scale.
Lightning Events
Lightning strikes are displayed as crosses (ground events) or squares (cloud events) and fade from white (current) to red (30 minutes ago) to blue (60 minutes ago).
Positive strikes appear as diagonal crosses.
Accumulated Rainfall (since 9am)
Rainfall since 9am local time is displayed with coloured dots.
Observations Rose
Surface observations are displayed as a 'rose' with temperature, dew point and relative humidity down the left-hand side
and rainfall since 9am, pressure and location name displayed down the right-hand side.
Temperatures fade in colour from blue (cold) to red (warm) and dew points fade in colour from blue (moist) to red (dry).
How to Read a Wind Barb

A wind barb is a compact means of representing both wind speed and direction graphically.
Each full-barb represents 10 knots (nautical miles per hour), a half-barb 5 knots and a flag 50 knots. Calm conditions are indicated by a dot only. 1 knot is equal to around 1.9km/h.
In the examples to the left the first indicates a 5 knot wind from the south-west, the second a 15 knot wind from the west-north-west, the third a 45 knot easterly and the fourth a 65 knot northerly.
Warnings
Severe weather, thunderstorm, tropical cyclone | |
Fire weather | |
Flood | |
Coastal wind | |
Graziers, bush walkers, frost |
Sentinel Hotspots
Sentinel hotspots detected within the last 6 hours are displayed. Sentinel is a satellite-based national bushfire monitoring system operated by Geoscience Australia.
≥ 150°C | |
≥ 100°C | |
≥ 50°C | |
< 50°C |
Weather Forecast Icons

Clearing shower

Cloudy

Cloud and wind increasing

Cloud increasing

Drizzle

Drizzle clearing

Fog then sunny

Frost then sunny

Hazy

Heavy rain

Heavy showers

Increasing sunshine

Late shower

Late thunder

Mostly cloudy

Mostly sunny

Overcast

Possible shower

Possible thunderstorm

Rain

Rain and snow

Rain clearing

Rain developing

Rain tending to snow

Showers

Showers easing

Showers increasing

Snow

Snowfalls clearing

Snow developing

Snow showers

Snow tending to rain

Sunny

Thunderstorms

Thunderstorms clearing

Windy

Windy with rain

Windy with showers

Windy with snow

Wind and rain increasing

Wind and showers easing
Forest Fire Danger Index
Category | Forest Fire Danger Index | Grassland Fire Danger Index |
---|---|---|
Catastrophic (Code Red) | 100 + | 150 + |
Extreme | 75-99 | 100-149 |
Severe | 50-74 | 50-99 |
Very High | 25-49 | 25-49 |
High | 12-24 | 12-24 |
Low-Moderate | 0-11 | 0-11 |
Please note that Weatherzone assumes worst case drought factor in the calculations
Weather News
Sydney 'mizzle' set to stick around for a while yet
12:21 EDT
If Thursdays have a feel, then that feel has to be pretty close to the weather in Sydney today.
Flood threat in Victoria on Friday
11:02 EDT
Heavy rain and thunderstorms could cause flooding in Victoria on Friday.