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A high is causing skies to become mostly clear in SA, Vic, NSW, NT & the interior. Showers are scattering along the Qld coast & western Tas in onshore winds. Patchy light rain is falling in WA as a trough meets an approaching front.
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Today, 5:43AM UTC
Top 3 warmest winter on record for Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra, Adelaide and Hobart
Winter 2026 was exceptionally warm across southeastern and eastern Australia, with all capital cities between Brisbane, Hobart and Adelaide registering one of their top three warmest winters on record. A lack of strong cold fronts passing over southeastern Australia during the last three months allowed temperatures to run well above average throughout winter. While there were still periods of cold weather, there was a noticeable absence of polar outbreaks and prolonged cold spells this season. Warmest winter on record for Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra Australia's two most populated cities, Sydney and Melbourne, and the nation’s capital, Canberra, all set new winter warmth records this season. These three cities collectively account for around 11.5 million people, which is more than 40% of Australia's population. Sydney’s mean temperature in winter 2026 was around 15.29°C, which is the city’s highest winter mean temperature on record, beating 14.95°C from 2013. The city’s average maximum temperature of 19.64°C was also a new record for winter. Data for Sydney dates back to 1859. Melbourne’s mean temperature this winter will come in at around 12.18°C, just above the previous record of 12.17°C from 2013. This makes 2026 the city’s warmest winter since observations commenced in 1855. Canberra also had its warmest winter on record, with a seasonal mean temperature of about 8.14°C. The previous record for the nation’s capital was 7.94°C in 2013, with data available back to the 1920s. Image: Modelled maximum temperature on the last day of winter 2026. Source: Weatherzone. Top three warmest winters for Brisbane, Adelaide and Hobart Hobart had its second warmest winter on record, with a mean temperature of around 10.51°C, putting the season behind 10.62°C in 2023. Hobart’s Ellerslie Road weather station has records dating to 1882 (but there are a few years missing in the early 1900s). Brisbane’s mean temperature in winter was around 17.63°C, which falls just below 17.64°C from 2019 and 17.68°C from 2023. Brisbane is another location with winter temperature records stretching back into the 1800s, with observations commencing in 1887. It was also Brisbane’s driest winter since 2004. Adelaide’s seasonal mean of around 12.90°C will also come in at third place behind 12.92°C in 2009 and 13.03°C in 2023. Adelaide’s observational history also begun in 1887. Despite being so warm, Adelaide also registered its wettest winter in 30 years. It’s likely that this will have been one of Australia's warmest winters on record based on the national mean temperature. However, that figure won’t be available until early September, once all the data from the final day of winter has come in. The statistics mentioned in this article are provisional seasonal averages based on observations up to 9am on Monday, August 31, combined with the forecast maximum temperatures on Monday. The final official seasonal values will become available after 9am on Tuesday, September 1.
Today, 2:10AM UTC
22°C to start spring in Melbourne as warmth spreads east
A burst of warmth will spread across southeastern Australia this week, with a relatively brief spike in temperatures in Melbourne, Adelaide, Hobart and Canberra around the first day of the new season, while Sydney will be unseasonably warm all week. On Tuesday, September 1: Melbourne is predicted to reach 22°C (average Sept maximum 17.3°C). In Adelaide, the mercury should also peak around 22°C (average Sept maximum 18.5°C). Hobart is forecast to reach 19°C but there's a chance the temperature could even tip over the 20-degree mark (average Sept maximum 15.2°C). Canberra is expected to reach 20°C on Tuesday, with maximums of 21°C expected either side of it, both this Monday and again on Wednesday. Since this Monday is the last day of August, it's worth noting that twenty-one degrees is an exceptionally warm winter temperature for the national capital, given that Canberra's average August maximum is just 14.4°C. While Canberra topped the 21-degree mark in August two years ago (21.4°C on August 24, 2024), the previous time it reached 21°C in August was back in 2015. What will cause the warm start to the season? Image: Mean sea level pressure and 850 hPa temperatures predicted for 4 pm (AEST) on Tuesday, September 1, 2026, according to the ECMWF model. Source: Weatherzone. Air circulating anticlockwise around the high pressure system centred over the Tasman Sea will drag relatively warm air from Australia's interior across the southeast. But the warmth will dissipate by Wednesday in Adelaide, Melbourne and Hobart, and by Thursday in Canberra, as cooler air associated with a weakening cold front sweeps in from the southwest. Image: Mean sea level pressure and 850 hPa temperatures predicted for 4 pm (AEST) on Thursday, September 3, 2026, according to the ECMWF model. Source: Weatherzone. Sydney to hit high-20s twice this week, largely unaffected by cooler air further south Of the southeastern capitals, Sydney is the only one that will barely feel the influx of cooler air. The harbour city is expected to reach 26°C on Tuesday to start spring, 27°C on Wednesday, and 26°C again on Thursday before dipping slightly to 23°C on Friday (average September maximum 20.2°C). By the weekend, significant early spring warmth returns, with a maximum around 29°C expected across the city from the western suburbs to the coastal fringe. There's even a chance the city could reach 30°C – a mark that hasn't been recorded in the first week of September since 2020. Dry and sunny for Sydney, showers developing in other SE capitals Image: Predicted rainfall accumulation across SE Australia to 10 am (AEST) on Thursday, September 3, 2026, according to the ECMWF model. Source: Weatherzone. Sydney is the only southeastern capital which is expected to remain dry over the coming week. While Melbourne, Adelaide, Hobart and Canberra should all see at least a few showers across several days as maximums dip back into the teens, Sydney will be protected by the ranges to the west of the city – as often happens in westerly streams in late winter and early spring. READ MORE: Warm start to spring to follow Sydney’s warmest winter on record
30 Aug 2026, 1:24AM UTC
Nearly 300,000 lightning strikes detected across WA this week
Extensive parts of WA’s west, south and remote interior have been impacted by thunderstorm, lightning and heavy rainfall over the past few days. Nearly 300,000 lightning strikes detected across WA Weatherzone’s Total Lightning Network (TLN) detected over 288,000 lightning strikes above Western Australia between Wednesday and Sunday, August 26-30, 2026. Image: Weatherzone’s Total Lightning Network detected nearly 300,000 lightning strikes across WA between Wednesday and Sunday, August 26-30, 2026. Source: Weatherzone. This extensive lightning and thunderstorm activity has been triggered by a broad low pressure trough extending over the state, supported by a slow-moving upper-level low pressure system increasing instability over the last few days. Video: Satellite imagery, radar and lightning detected across WA between Thursday and Sunday, August 27-30, 2026. Source: Weatherzone. As seen in the video above, thunderstorm and lightning activity was most intense on Friday and Saturday, with over 121,000 and 103,000 lightning strikes recorded each day, respectively. Across that 48-hour period, 78% of the nearly 300,000 lightning strikes were detected. Widespread healthy rainfall spreads across agricultural lands Along with prolific wintertime lightning activity, this system tapped into a deep moisture source and drenched the landscape across the South West Land Division of WA, including key agricultural lands. Image: Estimated 4-day rainfall across WA since Wednesday morning, August 26, 2026. Source: Weatherzone. Widespread falls of 20-40mm have been registered over the past 4 days, extending as far north as Geraldton, south to Albany and Esperance, and inland across the Goldfields. Agricultural lands of the Central Wheat Belt and Great Southern regions also received more intense rainfall of 50-100mm over the last few days.