A light dusting of fresh snow has coated the alpine areas of New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania to start winter, with heavier snowfalls likely later this week just in time for Saturday’s official opening of the 2026 Australian ski season.
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Damaging winds will hit parts of Western Australia, South Australia and Victoria on Monday as a large low pressure system passes to the south of Australia.
A bombing low southwest of WA is now impacting broad areas of the state’s southwest, with conditions expected to worsen through Sunday.
Explosive cyclogenesis is underway over the eastern Indian Ocean, where a rapidly deepening low pressure system is setting parts of southwest Western Australia up for a wild weekend of damaging to destructive winds, heavy rain, thunderstorms and dangerous seas.
Damaging winds are likely for Perth and parts of southwest Western Australia, especially near the coast, as a cold front roars in later this weekend.
Heavy rain and thunderstorms inundated parts of New South Wales on Thursday into Friday morning, with the State Emergency Service performing five flood rescues and responding to more than 300 incidents in 24 hours.
Parts of Queensland and New South Wales will continue to endure heavy rain and severe thunderstorms during the next 24 hours.
Tropical moisture has made its way all the way south to Tasmania, delivering some of the state’s heaviest daily rainfall totals on record for May.
Right on cue for the start of winter, a series of cold fronts will deliver a week of consistent showery weather for Perth and southwest WA, with light showers already scooting through the region on Wednesday morning and heavier rain likely to commence this afternoon or evening.
Heavy rain will cause flooding in parts of Tasmania on Wednesday, before a developing low pressure system causes further heavy rain and flooding in parts of New South Wales on Thursday and Friday.
Heavy rain has fallen across a wide area of eastern Australia, with rainfall totals in the 24 hours to 9am Tuesday exceeding 50mm at several locations in the Central West of New South Wales.
A large, complex system of low pressure is establishing itself over the southeastern mainland this week, in an unusual set-up for the last week of autumn.
A dynamic weather pattern will cause rain and thunderstorms over large areas of eastern, southern and western Australia this week.
Residents of Perth woke up to unseasonably cold temperatures this morning.