Australian Weather

Today, 12:25AM UTC

If you thought it was mild in recent months in Victoria, you’re spot on, with Australia’s smallest mainland state officially registering its warmest autumn on record. Average temperatures across Victoria were 1.90°C above average throughout autumn 2025, which narrowly exceeded the old record set in 2016. Image: Temperature anomalies in Victoria from 1910 to 2025. Source: BoM. Australia as a whole was 1.41°C above average in autumn 2025, which made it our 4th-warmest autumn since national records were first kept in 1910. No part of the country bucked the trend, with every state and territory significantly warmer than the long-term average, as shown in the map below of autumn 2025 temperature deciles. Image: Mean temperature deciles for Australia in autumn 2025. Source: BoM. There are four patterns on the chart above worth noting: 1. The first is the fact that no part of Australia saw below-average temperatures in autumn 2025, which points strongly to the underlying influence of the warming climate 2. The second point of interest is the white patches in outback Australia. Mostly, these are areas that experienced unusually heavy rainfall at times in autumn. Cloud and rain tend to make cooler weather, yet even a prolonged period of well below-average temperatures didn’t push these areas below the seasonal average. 3. Thirdly, and on a similar note to the second point, NSW temperatures were above average overall despite heavy rainfall and flooding in some areas in autumn. Indeed, NSW saw a temperature anomaly of 1.94°C, which was slightly higher than Victoria’s record figure of 1.90°C, but not quite a NSW record (it was the 2nd-warmest autumn on record). 4. But the main trend worth noting is just how warm it was in Victoria and parts of SA and southern NSW. This was largely due to the predominantly positive Southern Annular Mode (SAM) and the associated absence of rain-bearing frontal systems. READ MORE: What is the SAM and how does it affect Australia?  Image: Australian Rainfall deciles for autumn 2025. Source: BoM. As the map above shows, large parts of southern Australia experienced relentlessly dry conditions in autumn 2025, with Victoria registering its 9th-driest autumn on record overall, and Tasmania its 3rd-driest. In a pleasing sign for residents of southern Australia's drought-stricken regions, the SAM is starting to trend towards negative territory (after trending positive for almost all of autumn 2025) which means an increased likelihood of rainfall.

02 Jun 2025, 3:17AM UTC

Heavy rain will fall in southwestern WA, while two significant cold systems will send a deep chill, rain and snow across Tasmania and southeastern mainland Australia, in an unmistakeable sign that winter is now here. Southwest WA Perth appears set for its heaviest rain of 2025 to date beginning later this Monday and extending through to Wednesday. As a relatively slow-moving low pressure system approaches from the west, rainfall totals could exceed 50mm across those three days. Locals will welcome the wet spell after an extremely dry start to the year. All five months of 2025 this far have seen below-average rainfall in Perth – and that includes May even though more than 50mm fell in total in the last eight days of the month. While the southwest will be soggy, it won’t be particularly chilly, with the cold front on the back of the low sliding south of Cape Leeuwin (the continent's southwesterly tip). Image: Accumulated rainfall across Australia’s SW corner to 8am Thursday, June 5, 2025, according to the ECMWF model. Southeast Australia system 1: A big chill on Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday The first cold outbreak due across the southeast this week will come via a cold front which will clip the easternmost part of the continent as it makes a beeline northwards. Image: Synoptic chart for Tuesday, June 3, 2025. The coldest maximums of the year so far are likely at many locations on Tuesday or Wednesday (or in some cases both) in the cold southwesterly airflow, while a low off northern NSW will bring showers to northeastern NSW, possibly extending into southeast Qld. For the mainland alpine areas, a few centimetres of snow could accumulate ahead of the coming weekend’s official season opening, but the main effect of this system will be several nights of very cold, clear nights ideal for snowmaking in the wake of the front. Heavy snowfalls that could really kick-start the season into action look much more likely from the second system due over the weekend – as well as even colder maximums across the southeast. Image: Minimum temperatures across SE Australia for Thursday, June 5, according to the ECMWF model. Southeast Australia system 2: Potentially heavy snowfalls this coming weekend Towards the end of this week, a polar airmass is expected to surge towards southeastern Australia, accompanied by plentiful moisture. This system will be a double punch, with the first cold front likely to bring snow to only the highest parts of the mainland alpine region above about 1700m on Saturday. Later on Sunday into Monday, a more significant cold outbreak is looming. The low pressure system and associated cold front are expected to form what’s called a cut-off low, which means a pool of cold air gets cut off from the band of westerlies that circulates south of Australia in the mid-latitudes. At present, the cold pool is projected to park itself right over the southeast, which could mean heavy snowfalls lasting two days or longer for the alpine region – with snow possible at lower elevations on Monday as the coldest air arrives. Image: Early modelling suggests widespread snow accumulation on the mainland alpine region as well as across nearby elevated areas. Note that one inch equals approx. 2.5cm. A word of caution for snow lovers: these sorts of systems can be hit and miss. When a classic cold front embedded in the westerly stream sweeps across the SE mainland, you can reliably expect frequent widespread showers with snowfalls in the mountains. Cut-off lows are less predictable. So it’s still very much a wait-and-see with the system which is still nearly a week away. But current indications are that the opening weekend of the 2025 ski season could see persistent snowfalls that lay down a good base of snow for the season ahead. READ MORE: What is a cut-off low and why do they matter? For the latest snow forecasts, live cam images and much more throughout the 2025 snow season, don’t forget to bookmark Weatherzone’s snow page.