As Santa prepares for his biggest night of the year, we’ve got the weather forecast for the Australian leg of the journey around the world, and it looks like Rudolph’s red nose is going to be needed at full brightness when Santa and his reindeer arrive in Queensland and the Northern Territory. 

Image: Predicted cloud cover Australia-wide at 11pm AEDT Sun 24th 

It looks like Santa should have no problems finding the right chimneys to deliver presents to when he arrives in New South Wales and Victoria. The thick cloud blanketing the northern third of NSW should mostly clear by the evening, leaving just some easily navigable patchy cloud along the east coast and northern inland. Meanwhile, lingering cloud cover ahead of a cold front should bring about Rudolph’s first test when they arrive in Tasmania. 

Once Santa arrives in QLD, Rudolph will need to be ready to light the way, with a broad trough pushing cloud across almost the entire state. The journey could be particularly difficult around northern QLD, with thunderstorms reducing visibility as Santa makes his way between towns. 

South Australia should remain quite clear as Santa begins the central AUS leg, while ex Tropical Cyclone Ellie will make it a bumpy ride over the NT – Santa may need an umbrella to keep himself, and the presents dry as he approaches Darwin. To finish up, the West Australian coast should stay relatively clear, with thunderstorms over the inland Gascoyne providing a light show as Santa makes his way through WA. Santa may need to hurry to beat a trough approaching the southwest corner to complete the Australian leg, before he heads out to deliver presents to the rest of the world. 

Image: predicted 2m temperature and 10m winds for WA at 11PM AWST 

One more key point Santa might be interested in is the very warm conditions that he and the reindeer may encounter while traversing WA. Temperatures along the northern coast will likely be in excess of 28C when Santa makes his way through the area, pushing into the mid 30s when he makes his way inland. Pilbara residents will need to stock up on the milk, as well as fresh water for the reindeer, as Santa may be needing a few refreshing glasses as he makes his way towards Perth. 

As for Christmas day itself, most southeast Australians can enjoy a picturesque summer day, however residents in QLD, NT and parts of WA will see rain and thunderstorms. People from the Pilbara and Gascoyne southeast WA will experience quite a warm Christmas day, possibly kickstarting a post-Christmas heatwave for the Gascoyne and Pilbara regions.