Australian Weather

Today, 12:32AM UTC

It has been a big week of weather for Australia's most populous state of NSW. After a massive band of storms crossed the state on Wednesday, a low off the coast is now generating strong winds, rain and hazardous surf to coastal districts, especially from Sydney to the Qld border. Dangerously strong wind gusts started to lash the Sydney region and parts of southern NSW approaching lunchtime on Friday. Observations included: A gust of 119 km/h at Watamolla in the Royal National Park on Sydney's southern fringe just before midday. That's the strongest gust recorded there in almost six years, while the sustained wind speeds of 102 km/h were the strongest in almost a decade. A 93 km/h gust was recorded at Sydney Airport just before 1pm. Kurnell (opposite the airport on the southern shore of Botany Bay) recorded a 96 km/h gust just after 12:30pm. Just after 11am, the Bellambi weather station in Wollongong recorded a 98 km/h gust. It's also super windy in southern inland parts of the state – with gusts also topping 90 km/h at Cabramurra in the Snowy Mountains. Image: Three-hour radar and satellite loop on Friday morning with swirling clouds indicating the approximate position of the low centred off northern NSW.  Meanwhile numerous warnings are in place, including: A severe weather warning for damaging winds and heavy rainfall for the Mid North Coast and parts of the Hunter, Metropolitan, Northern Tablelands and North West Slopes and Plains forecast districts. A warning for damaging surf for Sydney Metropolitan, Hunter, Illawarra & Mid North Coast. Multiple warnings for gales and/or strong winds all the way along the NSW coast and extending to the Gold Coast and eastern Victoria. The low pressure system causing the dangerous weather is currently sitting off the northern NSW coast. While its effects in terms of winds and hazardous surf extend well beyond that region, Friday’s rainfall will be heaviest in the general vicinity of the low in northern NSW. Heavy rainfall, possibly leading to flash flooding, is forecast for the northern Hunter and Mid North Coast forecast districts, particularly on Friday afternoon and evening. The BoM estimates that six-hourly rainfall totals between 70mm and 120mm are possible, with the heaviest falls likely on elevated terrain. For Sydney, rainfall should be less intense than further north, but showers are expected to increase in the afternoon and evening period, meaning there could be weather disruptions to the Big Bash local derby between the Sydney Sixers and the Sydney Thunder at the SCG, starting at 7:15 pm. On this wild wet and windy Friday in coastal NSW and nearby areas, please check the latest on the Weatherzone warnings page for the latest updates. And for cricket fans seeking the latest info for weather in the vicinity of the SCG, our Sydney page has everything you need.

16 Jan 2025, 12:53AM UTC

Temperatures are again set plummet across parts of the U.S. from this weekend after a strong cold front sweeps across the country. January 2025 has seen an overall cold pattern in place for most areas of the U.S. east of the Rockies. That has led to some unusually high snowfall totals for the southern half of the country from a couple of systems earlier this month. One 6 to 12 inch band of snow fell across northeast Kansas and northern Missouri from January 4 to 6 and another 6 to 12 inch band fell across eastern Oklahoma, far northeast Texas, and central and northern Arkansas January 9 and 10. Outside of the intense snow bands, snowfall near or exceeding 6 inches also fell in parts of the Ohio Valley and Mid-South from both storms, respectively. Some areas of the south have seen more snowfall than areas up north. Much of southern Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin are in a ‘snow hole’ where much of the ground is either uncovered or with very little snow on the ground. The recent snow also led to very cold temperatures in some areas, with temperatures down to -10°F in northeast Kansas. Image: Snow cover from previous storm systems shown by satellite as of 11am CST, Monday, January 13. Source: College of DuPage Mother Nature is now building up to bring yet another big burst of cold air to the US, but this time, the cold weather will be even more widespread. The upper-level pattern over the US will play a key role in this next round of arctic cold, allowing a massive pool of cold, polar air to spread across much of the continent from the North Pole to the Gulf of Mexico by early next week. Usually, the Rockies provide a good barrier to these arctic intrusions, guiding them east of the mountains. For the coldest air, this will be true, but even the Rockies won’t be able to contain this immense cold pool, and it should seep westward into the Intermountain region as well. Image: Forecast from the European Ensemble model shows cold air (in blue and purple) pushing from western Canada through the U.S. this weekend, lingering much of next week. Source: tropicaltidbits.com Overall temperatures look to be coldest on Monday, January 20, but will be colder in the Northern Plains a day earlier and the East a day or two later. Widespread anomalies of 20-30 degrees below normal are expected for a couple of days and some peak areas that have fresh snow cover could see anomalies drop 40 degrees below normal. The last burst of arctic air failed to produce anomalies this drastic and widespread, but the one coming up has better potential to do this. The front that brings in the cold air later this week may also develop a low-pressure center that could cover the Southern Plains through the Northeast January 18 to 20. Models are still working this aspect of the system out, but it could lead to a zone of fresh snow for the Midwest or Mid-South into the Northeast that could allow temperatures to get even lower than the current forecasts. Any lingering snow from earlier in the month will also help to keep temperatures down as this next system comes through. A brief two- to three-day burst of above-normal temperatures this week should help to melt off some of the existing snow, especially for areas that were hit with the snow late last week across the south. However, those from Kansas eastward may not have warm enough temperatures for long enough to get rid of all the snow. The harsh cold starting later this week will only last a few days, most likely about to three days for the most drastic temperature anomalies. However, colder-than-normal temperatures are likely to persist through the end of the week and could be reinforced by more cold air to close out the month of January. What is unusual is that these bursts of cold are coming without an aid from the polar vortex. Over the last several years, many of these cold bursts we have seen have been in large part due to a disturbance in the polar vortex, or the jet stream that circles the North Pole. When the polar vortex gets disrupted, it often brings very cold air south, sometimes into North America, for extended periods of time. The month of January is going to be a cold one for many in the U.S., but this time it will not be due to the polar vortex. This cold air is shallower and not as long-lasting as polar vortex events can be. This is brining getting short, but intense bursts of cold lasting only a couple of days before temperatures return closer to normal for a few days before getting hit again. By contrast, polar vortex events usually last more than a week at a time without interruption.