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Scattered showers & storms with a broad region of low pressure across the NT & WA's east & north. Showers and the odd storm across most of SA, western Vic and Tas as a cloudband & cool change sweeps across the southeast. Showers in onshore winds along QLD's north coast.
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23 Nov 2024, 4:10AM UTC
Ever Wondered Why It Takes Longer to Fly from Brisbane to Perth Than the Other Way? Here’s the Surprising Reason!
There is a good reason why you might feel more travel-weary, with additional body aches and pains, when flying across the Australian continent from east to west, compared to west to east. This has a lot to do with the wind direction and wind speed at the cruising altitude of commercial airlines. The typical cruising altitude for commercial jet aircraft is between 28,000 and 34,000 feet (8.5 km to 10.5 km), which improves fuel economy through lowering fuel consumption in jet engines. At this altitude, flights enter the upper troposphere, which harbours regions of strong winds. Let's take a closer look at the wind patterns in the upper levels of the troposphere, particularly the band of very strong winds known as the Jetstream. The Jetstream is a region of higher-speed winds that flow predominantly from west to east. An analogy would be "a river of strong winds", where wind speeds commonly exceed 100 km/h. In certain situations, a narrow band of stronger winds within the Jetstream can reach speeds exceeding 200 km/h. During the winter months, winds within the Jetstream are typically at their strongest. It is quite common for wind speeds to exceed 140 km/h, and in some cases, they can reach 200 km/h or more. One scenario where flight times would be extended for westbound flights due to strong headwinds occurred on July 19th, 2024. A powerful Jetstream developed across the southern mainland of Australia, with wind speeds exceeding 300 km/h over southern Western Australia and the Great Australian Bight. For flights traveling to Perth from Brisbane, Sydney, or Melbourne, headwinds exceeding 200 km/h would have caused noticeable delays and increased flight times, while passengers experienced longer durations in the air before reaching their destination. Image: Forecast winds for 30,000ft on July 19th 2024 with annotated wind speeds exceeding 200km/h bounded by the white line and speeds exceeding 300 km/h bounded by the red line and the axis of the Jetstream marked by the green arrows. Yellow numbers are wind speed in km/h. The line linking Brisbane to Perth shows the shortest distance between the two cities. [Source – Ventusky – ECMWF weather model] By comparison, during the summer months, the Jetstream generally has slower wind speeds and a lower maximum wind speed. Its location is also more transient, meandering between central areas of Australia and higher latitudes to the south. As a result, the impact on westbound flight times is likely to be less significant compared to winter flights. The image below shows the Jetstream winds for November 3rd, 2024. The Jetstream is fragmented, with one section located over southern Western Australia and another off the east coast of Queensland. Compared to the winter weather pattern on July 19, any flight delays caused by headwinds would likely be much less noticeable on 3rd November. Image: Forecast winds for 30,000ft on November 3rd, 2024 with annotated wind speeds exceeding 200km/h bounded by the white line and the axis of the two Jetstream marked by the green arrows. Yellow numbers are wind speed in km/h. The line linking Brisbane to Perth shows the shortest distance between the two cities. [Source – Ventusky – ECMWF weather model] When scheduling future flights, the airlines factor in variations to flight times due to headwinds and tailwinds on standard flight paths using climatology and weather forecast modelling. Inspecting the flight schedules for major Australian airlines flying from Brisbane to Perth, flight times in winter average between 5 hours 30 minutes and 6 hours in duration from Brisbane to Perth, compared to summer flight durations of 4 hours 15 minutes to 4 hours 30 minutes. Scheduled flight times from Perth to Brisbane are normally 4 hour and 15 minutes to 4 hours and 30 minutes all year round, and is similar to westbound flight times in summer. The Jetstream also has a strong influence on the weather patterns observed in the lower atmosphere and near the Earth's surface. Ben Domensino wrote a story about a severe weather event over southeast Australia in November 2022, which was strongly influenced by the Jetstream. Read the full article here. Title image: Cirrostratus cloud with a jet airliner contrail in the foreground credit - unsettled photography
22 Nov 2024, 10:29PM UTC
From sweltering to soggy for southeast Australia
The pre-summer heatwave will come to an end across South Australia and most of Victoria this weekend, as the trough responsible for bringing in the heat is set to move across the region, bringing cooling showers and a southwesterly wind change. The relief from this early season heat will certainly be a welcome change for SA on Saturday, with most of the state recording maximum temperatures more than 10 degrees above average on Friday. The biggest departure from average came from Mt Gambier, soaring to 37.7°C, more than 17°C above the November average. Meanwhile Adelaide sweltered at 37.5°C, more than 13°C above average. For both these locations, as well as many more across SA, it was the hottest day since March. Gif: Infrared satellite image overnight for SA. The trough has already increased cloud cover across the state overnight ahead of impending showers and the odd storm, however this cloud subjected the state to an uncomfortable night. The minimum temperatures to 7am CDT hovered in the low to mid 20s across central and southern SA, with Adelaide’s overnight minimum staying at 24.6°C. That’s not to say it won’t cool down further during the day, with showers and isolated storms, accompanied by a southwesterly wind change and a much cooler airmass, set to sweep across southern and central parts of the state on Saturday. Rainfall totals are only expected to reach 15-30mm but will be widespread, allowing daytime relief while putting a slight dampener on weekend plans. Once the southwesterly winds pick up, temperatures will drop back towards the high teens to low twenties, still a warm night, but much easier to sleep through. Image: Forecast maximum temperatures across Vic on Saturday. Victorians will need to wait one more day for this relief, as Melbourne is expected to reach 37°C today. Meanwhile most of the remaining parts of Vic will also warm to the mid to high thirties today. Western and central Vic already have a head start, as the cloud cover ahead of the trough kept these areas above 20 degrees for most of the night. Melbourne only managed to drop to 22.7°C and has already warmed up to 29.0°C by 9am. Rainfall across Vic tomorrow may amount to slightly higher totals than for SA, although 24-hour totals should still stay below 40mm. Just like SA, it will likely be the cooler temperatures that are most welcome from this trough as the pre-summer heatwave reaches its conclusion for the southeast. Image: Accumulated precipitation to Sunday night for southern and central SA and Vic.
22 Nov 2024, 12:43AM UTC
Sydney to sweat through week-long run of heat
A sustained run of heat will grip Sydney over the coming week, with a string of hot days and uncomfortable nights giving the city an early taste of summer. A blocking high pressure system centred over the Tasman Sea will allow warm northerly component winds to flow over eastern NSW every day between now and the middle of next week. This stagnant weather pattern will allow hot air to gradually build over the Sydney Basin during the next 5 to 7 days, causing a relentless run of hot days and nights. Image: Forecast air temperature and wind at 5pm AEDT on Monday, November 25, 2024. Temperatures in the city of Sydney and its eastern are likely to reach the high-twenties this weekend and then rise further to around 29 to 30°C from Monday to Wednesday or Thursday next week. Image: Daily forecast on the Weatherzone app for Sydney, NSW. While sea breezes will help limit heating in Sydney’s east over the coming week, these onshore winds will also raise the humidity and make it feel a few degrees warmer than it actually is. Dew point temperatures in eastern Sydney are expected to reach the low-twenties from Monday to Wednesday next week. These dew point temperatures will make it feel muggy and uncomfortable. Image: Dew point guide. Further west and away from the moderating effect of sea breezes, temperatures are going to soar in western Sydney. Penrith is forecast to reach the low-thirties on Friday and Saturday, the mid-thirties on Sunday and Monday and high-thirties from Tuesday. There is some model uncertainty regarding the heat beyond Tuesday, although the latest computer model guidance suggests that Wednesday and Thursday could also be hot, with maximums possibly reaching the mid- to high-thirties. Overnight temperatures will also be noticeably warm across Sydney between the hottest days of this this hot spell, particularly near the coast. Minimums in Sydney’s east are expected to stay up around 20 to 21°C each night from Monday to Wednesday, which will make hard to cool down from the heat of the day. These temperatures are abnormally warm for this time of year and would be more common in summer. Minimums will be about 3 to 5°C above average over the coming week in Sydney east, while maximums are expected to run around 5 to 10°C above average across the Sydney Basin. At this stage, Sydney should see some brief relief from the heat late next week, although there are early signs that another round of warmer air will return in the opening week of December. Title image credit: iStock / holgs