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A cold front brings some rain and showers over Tas, Vic & eastern SA. Cold, unstable air behind the front brings showers to southwest WA. A high directs moist winds and showers over the QLD coast and dry, gusty winds over eastern NSW and across the northern interior.
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Today, 1:59AM UTC
Why Melbourne hit 21°C at 3am last night
Melbourne saw an unusual spike in temperature last night when the mercury jumped to 21°C at 3am, making the middle of the night feel warmer than an average spring day. Thursday night started off warm for this time of year as light northerly winds had the temperature sitting on 16°C at 10pm. The mercury then cooled to 14°C by midnight, which is about 6°C above the average minimum temperature at this time of year. A surge of northerly winds then brought much warmer air into the city from central Victoria. By 3am Melbourne’s temperature had shot up to 21°C, a jump of more than 6°C in under three hours. Image: Northerly winds over central Vic at 4am AEST on Friday, carrying warm inland air towards Melbourne. It’s rare to see overnight temperatures exceeding 20°C in Melbourne at this time of year: The city’s average minimum temperature in September is 8°C It’s average daytime maximum temperature in September is 17°C The warmest September night on record for Melbourne had a minimum temperature of 20.5°C Image: Temperature observations in Melbourne during Thursday night and Friday morning, showing abrupt warming between midnight and 3am. Melbourne has remained warm throughout Friday morning, although cooler southwesterly winds and showers will drop the temperature in the afternoon following the passage of a cold front. Damaging winds are also likely to affect parts of eastern Vic on Friday ahead of this cold front, so be sure to check the latest severe weather warnings throughout the afternoon.
Today, 1:12AM UTC
Moderate flooding, damaging winds and high fire danger today
Yet another cold front will bring renewed potential for moderate flooding in Tas and damaging winds, high fire danger and well above average temperatures to southeastern states in the next 48 hours. The satellite image below shows the cold front and associated rain and cloud approaching SA, Vic and Tas on Friday morning. Image: Himawari-9 satellite image at 10am on Friday, September 6. This cold front, along with a couple of others that will march across the south of the continent on the weekend, will bring rain to parts of the southeast in the next 72 hours. While this rain will not be as heavy as what Tas experienced during the beginning of this week, western and northern parts of the state should pick up another 30 to 60mm, with isolated falls between 60 to 90mm. Snow will fall above 800 metres on Friday and Saturday, before the snow level rises to 1000 metres on Sunday. Image: Accumulated rain for the three days leading up to 10pm on Sunday, September 8, according to ECMWF This rain is falling over catchments which had already become saturated from heavy rainfall earlier this week, leading to renewed potential for riverine flooding. As of 10:30am on Friday, September 6, a moderate flood warning is current for the Macquarie River and North Esk River from Friday afternoon or evening. Minor flood warnings were current for the Mersey River, Meander River, South Esk River and River Derwent. Meanwhile, another bout of damaging north to northwesterly winds are impacting the southeast on Friday morning: Gelantipy in Vic recorded a 100km/h wind gust at 8am Mount Hotham, Vic, saw a 100km/h wind gust at 1:46am Mount Buller, Vic, saw a 98km/h wind gust at 3:32am Scotts Peak Dam, Tas, observed a 96.3km/h wind gust at 7:37am Tasman Island, Tas, recorded a 117m/h wind gust at 7:30am Low Rocky Point, Tas, recorded a 106km/h gust at 6:48am Thredbo Top Station, NSW, saw 107 km/h mean winds at 2:00 am and a wind gust of 126km/h at 12:35am. While the damaging winds have eased in Tas, the winds will remain fierce across elevated areas in Vic on Friday. Meanwhile NSW is experiencing damaging winds over the alps which will expand and increase across southeastern Australia during Friday morning. The map below shows the wind gust forecast on Friday afternoon. Image: Instantaneous wind gust forecast for 1pm on Friday, September 6 according to ECMWF In Vic, winds should ease in the west during the late morning, then in central and eastern parts of the state in the evening, while NSW could see damaging winds linger until late Friday evening. The cold front is also causing a contrasting airmass ahead and behind the front, with parts of southeastern Australia experiencing temperatures around 10°C above the September average, with a cool airmass rapidly approaching southern states. The map below shows the warm airmass ahead of the front and the cool airmass approaching Tas on Friday afternoon. Image: 850 hPa temperature forecast for 4pm on Friday, September 6 according to ECMWF. The map below shows the maximum temperature forecast on Friday with warm conditions forecast ahead of this front. Sydney is expecting 30°C on Friday, dropping to 24°C on Saturday behind the southerly change. Meanwhile Melbourne is forecast to reach 24°C on Friday, before the temperature plummets to 18 to 19°C on the weekend Image: Maximum temperature forecast on Friday, September 6, according to ECMWF The warm, windy and dry conditions are elevating fire danger across parts of the southeastern states on Friday, with southwest Qld, Sydney, Illawarra and Wentworth forecast to see high fire danger. Image: Fire danger forecast for Friday, September 6 Looking ahead, a high pressure system will swiftly move into the front's wake, easing the severe weather for several days. However, there are early signs that we could see another system move across the southeastern states during the middle of next week.
05 Sep 2024, 7:34AM UTC
Perth 10 degrees colder than Canberra, Hobart
Southwest WA locals are enduring a bitterly cold Thursday in the frigid southwesterly airstream behind a cold front that passed through earlier this morning. While southeastern Australia swelters by spring standards in yet another burst of widespread warmth after a brief cold spell early this week, Perth locals are shivering. At 12:30pm local time, Perth was just 11°C At 12:30pm local time, Canberra was 21.4°C. At 12:30pm local time, Hobart was 20.6°C So that's close enough to a 10-degree difference between Perth and the two Australian capital cities which most people associate with chilly weather at this time of year. Indeed, Perth has been significantly colder than all other Australian capital cities since 9am this Thursday. Rain has contributed to the cool temps in Perth and across the southwest. The front delivered 14 mm of rain to Perth in the 24 hours to 9 am Thursday, with a few more millimetres afterwards as brief but relatively heavy showers scooted through the South West Land Division. Despite plenty of rain of late, today's damp weather would not have been unwelcome. After Perth's driest seven months on record from October 2023 through to April 2024, Perth enjoyed near-average rainfall in May and June, and better-than-average rainfall in July and August. September is on average the fifth-wettest month of the year, and with the dry months looming ahead, every drop still counts, so few locals would have argued with the overnight soaking. A drying trend will set in after showers clear later on Friday, with no sign of rain till the end of next week at the earliest. The mercury will also be relatively slow to rise as there's no shortage of cold air behind the front – a fact emphasised by today's cold early afternoon temps, and revealed by the tell-tale field of speckled cloud (which indicates cold air) over the southwest.
Weather in Business
28 Aug 2024, 3:51AM UTC
Gales and crosswinds cause disruptions at Sydney Airport
Gale force west to northwesterly winds are creating havoc at Sydney airport on Wednesday afternoon, with all six landing and takeoff options impacted by very strong cross winds. Sydney airport saw gale force west to northwesterly mean wind speeds of 65km/h at 12:30pm, while the site has been gusting up to 82km/h. These winds are too strong for all three runways (six landing and takeoff options) to be used safely, airport traffic typically peaks during light winds. The image below shows that two of Sydney Airport’s parallel runways are orientated from north to south, and one single runway runs from west to east. Image: Sydney Airport runway orientation showing two parallel runways running north/south and one west/east, Source: Sydney Airport The west-east runway is the longest and can accept the largest aircraft, the A380. The gale force west to northwesterly winds on Wednesday are causing around 25 knots of crosswind on each of the six runway options. Image: Weatherzone’s cross wind calculator in our Aviation Dashboard showing cross wind or X wind of 24 to 25 knots. The term ‘crosswinds’ refers to winds that blow perpendicular to the runway, which can generate a significant lateral force on the aircraft, making it difficult for pilots to maintain a stable trajectory. The strong crosswinds can cause the plane to drift off course, posing a serious risk to both the aircraft and its passengers. Sydney Airport typically changes runways when there’s sustained crosswind gusts above 20 knots (37km/h). However, on Wednesday crosswinds are affecting all runways, meaning that aircraft are often opting to use the two north-south runways to increase traffic. This has meant that some flights have tried twice to land in these difficult conditions. It is very rare for crosswinds to impact all runways and therefore this event is causing significant disruptions at the airport on Wednesday. This event is not isolated to the Sydney area, numerous severe weather warnings for gales and damaging and/or destructive winds are in place across four states and the ACT, as a strong cold front lashes Tasmania and southeastern parts of the continent. So when will these winds die down? Conditions will ease somewhat by Wednesday evening, but not before the Sydney airport peak hour between 5 and 7pm. Winds will intensify again on Friday and into the weekend as further fronts whip through southern parts of the country.
23 Aug 2024, 5:01AM UTC
A great week for Tassie Hydro
Hundreds of millimetres of rainfall are forecast for western Tasmania in the next week, which will help replenish hydroelectric lakes in the region after some of the lowest rainfall on record. Hydropower is Tasmania’s main source of electricity, with frequent rain filling Tassie Hydro’s 54 major dams and feeding into 30 hydropower stations. In fact, during winter, the state usually exports electricity to Victoria, via the underwater Basslink. In summer, when it is usually drier, the state relies on the National Electricity Market (NEM) for a top up of power. Image: Hydroelectricity dam at Strathgordon in Tasmania According to Hydro Tasmania, they produce around 9000 gigawatts of clean renewable electricity from hydropower, enough to power 900,000 homes or businesses. The map below shows the catchments and power stations scattered across Tasmania; the largest lakes used for hydro are the Great Lake and Gordon-Pedder. The rain that falls in these catchments or dams is collected and used to generate electricity. Image: Hydro catchment areas. Source: Hydro Tasmania Usually, the west coast of Tasmania is the wettest due to prevailing westerly winds from cold fronts passing over the state, which tend to be blocked by vast mountains through central areas. During the past three months, unfortunately, this has not been the case for the west coast. Overall, the area has seen below average rain, reaching record lows in the far northwest, while the east coast saw average to above average rain. Image: Tasmania rain deciles between May 1 and July 31, 2024. Source: Bureau of Meteorology During July 2024, rain in western and central Tasmania was in the lowest 10% of Julys since 1900. The below average rain has affected water storage across western Tasmania, with some areas seeing record low or very much below average streamflow. The Great Lake was only 25.1% full by the end of July, which is a 10.4% decrease from the same time last year. Image: Streamflow decile categories for July 2024. Source: BOM The good news is that rain is on its way, with a complex low pressure system set to direct several cold fronts across the state in the coming week. Western Tasmania is forecast to see around 100 to 200mm of rain in the next 7 days, which could help fill up the western lakes, including the Gordon-Pedder. Eastern Tasmania, however, will see slightly less rain, with widespread falls of 30 to 50mm and isolated falls of 60 to 80mm. Image: Accumulated rain forecast for the next 7 days leading up to 10pm AEST on Thursday, August 29. Some of these totals will fall as snow as a cold airmass moves over the state from mid to late next week. Looking ahead, the rain should continue next Friday, August 30, and into the weekend as the low continues to linger over the region.
