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Unstable air brings showers and storms to WA's south and inland. Moist onshore winds drive showers into northeast NSW, eastern Qld and the NT's eastern Top End. High pressure keeps the southeast dry and settled with unseasonably warm northerly winds.
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Today, 4:30AM UTC
Darwin wet season was 4th-soggiest on record
The Top End wet season comes to an end with clear skies and dry conditions across virtually the entire Northern Territory this Thursday, but it was a very soggy season in many locations, and not least in Darwin. The Top End wet season officially runs from the start of October to the end of April. To 9am this Thursday, April 30 (in the unlikely event of rain after 9am, it will be counted in May’s total) Darwin recorded: 2397.4mm of rainfall across the wet season, which made it the 4th-wettest on record. The average across the season in 157 years of records is 1691.7mm. Above-average rainfall in each of the last six months of the season from November through April. The only other time that happened was in 2016/17. It’s worth noting that all five of Darwin’s dampest wet seasons have occurred since the 1990s. Climatologists have identified a trend of gradually increasing wet season rainfall, and this is considered to be a signal related to climate change. Apart from Darwin, numerous other locations in the Top End also experienced consistently wetter-than-usual conditions in the 2025/26 wet season. For example, the weather station at Cape Wessel at the far northeastern tip of Arnhem Land recorded 513.4mm of rainfall in December and 639.8mm in January. The December figure was a record, while January came close. Indeed, many areas have likely recorded the heaviest rainfall totals on record across the duation of the wet season. Image: NT wet season rainfall deciles from the start of October 2025 to the end of March 2026. Some locations experienced record running wet season rainfall totals for the first six months of the seven-month season. Source: BoM. Why was the Top End wet season so wet? Numerous slow-moving tropical lows generated persistent rainfall over prolonged periods, while tropical cyclones also played a significant role in rainfall totals, especially Fina in November and Narelle in March, In particular, Severe Tropical Cyclone Narelle had a strong influence on rainfall totals during the 2025/26 Top End wet season. Narelle made landfall in three states during March. Its first landfall was in Far North Queensland, its second was in the NT Top End, while its third was in the northwest of Western Australia. That second landfall brought copious amounts of rain to the territory and caused severe flooding in and around places like Katherine. Darwin and Katherine (300km SE of Darwin) both exceeded 500mm of rainfall in March. This made it the wettest month of the 2025/26 wet season in both spots, even though March is on average Darwin’s 3rd-wettest and Katherine’s 4th-wettest wet season month. Image: Rainfall deciles for the Northern Territory in March, 2026. The dark blue areas represent the heaviest March monthly totals on record. Source: BoM. Can it still rain during the rest of the year in the Top End? With the dry season upon us, that doesn’t mean the rain taps totally turn off until October – although that can happen in the winter months. On average, Darwin receives 20.2mm, 1.7mm, 1.1mm, 4.5mm, and 16.8mm of rainfall in May, June, July, August and September respectively. But last year, the city received not a drop in June, July and August, which is not unusual.
29 Apr 2026, 10:07PM UTC
Storms, blustery winds to hit southern Australia
A burst of wet and windy weather will sweep across southern Australia later this week, with thunderstorms and an abrupt temperature drop also on the cards for several states. A complex low pressure system moving to the south of Australia will cause a cold front and low pressure trough to cross the country’s south from Friday to Sunday. The system will move from west to east, causing showers, thunderstorms and blustery winds over the south of Western Australia on Friday, South Australia on Saturday and Victoria, Tasmania, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory on Saturday and Sunday. Following a spell of dry and unusually warm weather across much of southern Australia this week, the upcoming system will cause an abrupt change in conditions, including a big drop in temperature. The map below shows how much rain is expected to fall over the next seven days, although most of this is likely to happen between Friday and Sunday. Image: Forecast accumulated rain during the seven days ending on Wednesday, May 6, 2026. Source: Weatherzone. The rain from this system will affect a broad area of southern Australia stretching from WA to NSW. However, falls are likely to be hit and miss for many areas, as opposed to widespread uniform rainfall. This means some areas will see decent falls of around 10 to 20mm, possibly over 40mm, while others will get little if any rain. This rainfall disparity will be particularly stark where thunderstorms are involved. Wind will also be a notable feature this week as northerly winds strengthen ahead of the approaching front and cooler west to southwesterly winds arrive in its wake. Damaging winds may develop in some areas, most likely over SA and parts of western Vic on Saturday, and possibly elevated areas of eastern Vic and southeast NSW on Sunday. Image: Forecast wind gusts over SA on Saturday morning. Source: Weatherzone. Temperatures should also cool by around 5 to 10°C with the passage of this system: Adelaide is forecast to reach as high as 19°C on Sunday and Monday, much cooler than the 28 to 29°C maximum temperatures in the city from Wednesday to Friday. Melbourne is predicted to reach around 26°C on Friday and only 22°C by Sunday. Hobart should reach 24 to 25°C on Friday and Saturday, then 19°C on Monday. Canberra is forecast to reach 23°C on Saturday and Sunday, and 17°C on Tuesday. Image: Daily forecasts for Adealide in the Weatherzone app, showing wet and cooler weather arriving this weekend. Source: Weatherzone. Warnings for damaging winds, heavy rain and severe thunderstorms may be issued in parts of southern Australia this week, so be sure to check the latest warnings in your area over the next few days.
29 Apr 2026, 1:04AM UTC
Three cities to start May around 10 degrees above average
Melbourne, Adelaide and Hobart are all set to start May with maximums in the mid-to-high twenties that are around 10 degrees above the monthly average. All three cities – along with much of southeastern Australia – have experienced an unseasonable run of warmth in recent weeks, as high pressure systems centred over waters south of the mainland have blocked cold fronts from pushing northwards. That pattern looks set to continue for at least another four days in all three cities, before a slow-moving cold front starts to disturb the stable set-up during the weekend. Let’s take a quick look at Friday’s weather in each city: Image: Temperature anomalies for Australia on Friday, May 1, 2026. Source: Tropical Tidbits. Melbourne Melbourne is having an exceptionally warm end to April, with maximums exceeding the monthly average of 20.2°C on 10 of the last 11 days of the month – and by three degrees or more on each of those days. But this week’s warmest day could be Friday, May 1, when the forecast maximum of 26°C would be nearly 10 degrees above the monthly average of 16.8°C. Adelaide Like Melbourne, the South Australian capital has had a very warm run recently. Since April 18, maximums have been well above average on every day except one, and that trend will continue until the end of the month this Thursday. Indeed, the five day period leading up to Anzac Day was Adelaide's warmest spell this late in the season in 105 years. On Friday, Adelaide is expecting a maximum of 29°C. That would be more than 10 degrees above the average May maximum of 18.6°C. Hobart Image: Parts of Tasmania will experience heatwave conditions — defined by the BoM as three or more days of unusually high maximum and minimum temperatures relative to the local climate and recent weather. Source: Weatherzone. Earlier this month, the Tasmanian capital shivered through a day which peaked at just 11.5°C as snow coated kunanyi/Mt Wellington. A high of 25°C is on the cards for this Friday, which would be more than 10 degrees above the average May maximum of 14.6°C. What’s causing the unseasonable warmth over southeastern Australia? Image: Synoptic chart for Friday, May 1, 2026. Source: Weatherzone. As mentioned at the top of this story, high pressure systems have been blocking the cool, showery weather systems that lurk in the Southern Ocean. Friday looks to be the warmest day of the week across the southeast as air circulating anti-clockwise around the high centred near New Zealand drags warm air from the interior of Australia southwards. By Sunday and Monday, cooler, unstable weather should hit the southeast as the blocking high drifts east and the cold front pushes through. There’s also potential for a much colder outbreak around the middle of next week.