Australian Weather

Today, 2:36AM UTC

A trough crossing southern SA has sparked as many as 40 bushfires due to a combination of dry lightning and parched countryside experiencing ongoing severe rainfall deficiencies, with fires also sparked in Victoria. The dry lightning outbreak started on Monday evening and has continued through to the middle of Tuesday before progressing eastwards into Victoria, with more than 400,000 lightning strikes recorded within 500km of Mount Gambier in southeastern SA between Monday morning and Tuesday lunchtime.  While a few SA locations were lucky enough to see falls of 10mm or more (including Coonawarra with 24.4mm), most locations saw barely a drop – and certainly not enough to negate the effects of a lighting strike.  A SA Country Fire Service spokesperson said that nearly all of the service's 68 brigades and trucks in the state's southeast have been actively responding to calls throughout the night and into the early morning. Image: Fire incidents in SA at 1:30pm on Tuesday, Mar 11, 2025. Source: SA Country Fire Service. You can see how the lightning outbreak developed overnight on the combined radar and lightning loop below, where pink indicates areas of lightning.  Image: Six-hour radar loop showing rain and lightning approaching and then crossing SE South Australia and SW Victoria from 4pm to 10pm on Monday. March 10.  READ MORE: KANGAROO ISLAND, THE ISLAND THAT RAIN FORGOT Many parts of southern SA were also without power overnight due to thunderstorm activity. Image: Map of lightning strikes in SA and VIC on Monday, Mar 10 and the first half of Tuesday, Mar 11, 2025. For firefighters currently tackling blazes in South Australia, the weather outlook is not positive heading into the second of the working week. After a Wednesday and Thursday with max temps in the high 20s or low 30s across much of southeastern SA, maximums will rise sharply to the mid-to-high 30s with highs of 37°C and 38°C expected in Adelaide on Friday and Saturday respectively, as northerly winds strengthen. Please check the latest fire info at the South Australian Country Fire Service or the Emergency Vic Incidents and Warnings page.

10 Mar 2025, 4:42AM UTC

Rainfall observations from the past five days have revealed that parts of southeast Queensland received more than one metre of rain during Tropical Cyclone Alfred’s protracted landfall. Rain associated with Tropical Cyclone Alfred started falling in eastern Australia around Tuesday and Wednesday last week while the system gradually approached the coast. This wet weather continued and intensified during the second half of last week as Alfred edged towards the coast, made landfall as a tropical low on Saturday night and then moved inland on Sunday and Monday. Alfred’s drawn-out journey towards eastern Australia and its prolonged landfall exposed parts of southeast Qld and northeast NSW to a sustained period of rainfall. Within this multi-day soaking were shorter periods of intense rain that caused flash flooding. At the longer timeframe of this event, some areas in southeast Qld received more than one metre of rain over the space of five days. Here are some of the standout accumulated rainfall totals during the 120 hours ending at 9am on Monday, March 10: 1111 mm at Upper Springbrook, Qld 1010 mm at Lower Springbrook, Qld 850 mm at Dorrigo, NSW 820 mm at Tallebudgera Creek Dam, Qld 721 mm at Huonbrook, NSW Image: A quantitative estimate of rainfall over eastern Australia during the 120 hours ending at 9am AEDT on Monday, March 10, 2025. Some areas experienced their wettest day in decades during this event, including Brisbane, which had its wettest day since January 26, 1974. The biggest daily rainfall totals from the past five days occurred in the 24 hours to 9am on Monday, after Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred had crossed the coast, with some big totals including: 433 mm at Diamond Valley, Qld 410 mm at Wongawallan, Qld 391 mm at West Woombeye, Qld 357 mm at Kingsholme (Montego Hills), Qld 282 mm at Tomewin, NSW 275.2 mm at Brisbane, Qld Shorter rainfall rates were equally immense, particularly when a convergence line in the wake of Alfred’s core caused heavy and slow-moving thunderstorms over parts of southeast Qld on Sunday into Monday morning. Here are some notable rainfall rates from southeast Qld and northeast NSW over the last few days: 224 mm in 3 hours on Sunday morning at Hervey Bay, Qld 147 mm in 3 hours and 207 mm in 6 hours on Sunday night at Kingsholme (Montego Hills), Qld on Sunday night 112 mm in 3 hours early on Monday morning at Maleny, Qld 105 mm in 1 hour on Sunday afternoon at Fred Haigh Highway, Qld Video: The Queen Mary Falls in southern Qld responding to Alfred's rain. Source: @my_australia_downunder / Instagram The rain associated with Tropical Cyclone Alfred and its remnant low pressure system has caused widespread major riverine flooding and flash flooding in southeast Qld and northeast NSW over the past few days. This flooding has cut off numerous roads in both states, and rivers are likely to remain elevated for days as the floodwaters make their way downstream. Check the latest flood warnings and severe weather warnings in your area for the most up-to-date information and do not attempt to drive through floodwater. A small car can be moved by as little as 15 cm of flowing water, while 60 cm is enough to wash the vehicle away.