Overdue wet spell for Perth and southwest WA
Rain is heading towards the southwest corner of the country, with a procession of cold fronts set to sweep across WA’S South West Land Division in coming days.
The spell of persistent showery weather will be welcomed by locals who endured the second-driest July in more than a century of records across the southwest, with some locations like Albany recording their driest July on record.
Winter is of course statistically by far the wettest time of year in the southwest, but the rain-bearing systems typical of midwinter were largely absent last month. This week sees a return to what you might call "regular programming".
Image: Albany graphs on the Weatherzone app.
When is the rain due and how much will fall?
The big three rain days for most locations in the coming period are Friday, Saturday and Monday.
The BoM has forecast totals in the range of 6 to 20 mm for Perth for Friday, 8 to 20 mm for Saturday, and 6 to 20 mm for Monday.
But each day between up until next Tuesday has at least the possibility of a shower in the forecast. That includes this Thursday, when some showers may develop in the evening.
After a July in which Perth received only 56.8 mm of rainfall – compared to the long-term July average of 147.8 mm – every drop will be welcome, even if the surface is a little soggy when the West Coast Eagles host Collingwood from 2:10 pm (AWST) on Sunday at Perth’s Optus Stadium.
Temperature drop to accompany rainfall
Image: Forecast 850 hPa temperatures and mean sea level pressure for WA at 8 pm on Saturday, August 8, 2026, illustrating the cold air streaming in from the southwest. Source: Weatherzone.
After a mild week with four consecutive days that peaked at 20 degrees or higher (including a very warm 25.3°C on Monday), Perth will cool down substantially by Saturday as the first wave of cold air spreads across the southwest.
Saturday's expected Perth maximum of 16°C would be the city’s coldest day in almost two months.
Albany, in the state’s South Coastal forecast district, is forecast to reach just 12°C on Saturday, which would be its coldest day of the year to date.