Using AWN

AWN is a HUGE site (315,440 files as at 27/11/12) but finding your way around is easy if you follow this short guide.

• Use the menu and sub-menus at the top of each screen to go to AWN's main sections.
• Some pages that don't have the menu bar at the top open in a new window.
• The main weather pages have a Links to other sites box that leads you to links to hundreds of relevant sites outside AWN.
• The site is best viewed at a screen resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels or greater.

• Forecasts: Weather warnings and forecasts for all Australia, Bureau 7-day OCF guidance forecasts for up to a week for over 600 locations, and computer model forecasts of rain and more.
• Current: The weather today and right now. Radar, lightning, satellite images, detailed rainfall maps, and weather readings from all Australian stations. AWN also presents a huge range of synoptic charts covering the whole world but with particular emphasis on Australia.
• Daily Weather Summaries: Charts, statistics and news stories give the most detailed national weather coverage available in one place for every day back to 1996. Today's is here.
• Recent & Climate: Rainfall, temperature and more for every Australian station going back to the beginning of weather records. Long-term averages, charts, climate change, El Nino.
• Severe: Current and past cyclones, floods, droughts, thunderstorms, hail, tornadoes, snowstorms, bushfires, gales and high seas.
• Know-how: How the weather works; observing, analysing and forecasting the weather as well as tech stuff for those keen to expand their weather knowledge.

Unless otherwise indicated, data and charts are provided by the

Site disclaimer

• 22 January 2015 - NOAA's global analyses for the year 2014 as well as December 2014 are now available. In a consistent trend, 2014 finished up being the hottest year for combined land and ocean surface temperatures in the 135-year history that NOAA uses for comparisons. The year was 0.69C above the 20th century average. The December 2014 temperature also came in at a record high 0.77C above the 20th century average. The December report is available here, while the Annual report is here. The reports also carry a lot of detailed information about temperature, precipitation and weather extremes in all countries and areas of the world that experienced significant events during the month and year.
• 7 January 2015 - The first Drought Statement for 2015 has been issued by the Bureau of Meteorology today. It summarises December 2014 rainfall, and looks at rainfall deficiencies across the nation in the past 6, 13 and 27 months. There's a description of the state of soil moisture, and different tabs give access to more detailed rainfall and deficiency information, and a number of other tools for those interested in drought and rainfall.
• 6 January 2015 - The Bureau of Meteorology's Annual Climate Statement for 2014, issued today, shows last year was the third hottest for Australia as a whole since national standardised records began in 1910. Helped along by intense heatwaves early in 2014, an exceptionally mild May, and the warmest spring on record, southern Australia experienced its second hottest recorded year with a mean temperature 1.28C above average. Full details of the year and its exceptional weather events are in the 2014 Climate Statement.
• 6 January 2015 - Climate Summaries for each state and major capital cities for the year 2014 and also for the month of December 2014 are now available on the Bureau's website. Go to this link and follow the obvious links to the summary you're after. These state summaries give considerable detail, not only of overall climate but also individual significant weather events. They also provide rainfall and temperature maps, details of extreme rainfall and temperature by station, and rainfall and temperature statistics for each official weather station in the state.
• 3 December 2014 - Bureau Statement issued on record hot spring. The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a Special Climate Statement on the spring just finished, which was the hottest nationally since standardised records began in 1910. Not only was it the hottest spring, at 1.67°C above the national average, but it was the hottest of any season recorded, eclipsing 1.64°C above average set in autumn 2005. It was also the second spring in a row to break the record for spring heat. The full Statement is here.
• 25 November 2014 - Sweden loses highest peak to global warming. Here's an unusual impact of climate change. Most of us are aware that the gradual warming of the globe is impacting on climate, weather, vegetation, crops and animal and insect life, but as this article shows, it is about to demote Sweden's highest peak to second place. The impact on tourism is expected to be immense, but already vegetation and snowmelt in the area has changed, and "reindeer calves are dying because their mothers aren't getting enough water to make milk, and the herders are struggling".
• 20 September 2014 - NOAA analysis shows record high global temperature in August. NOAA's just-published Global Analysis for August 2014 shows temperatures across land and ocean areas combined was a record high for August, coming in 0.75C above the twentieth century average and breaking the previous record set in 1998. However, for ocean areas the August temperatures went through the roof. The report says "For the ocean, the August global sea surface temperature was 0.65°C above the 20th century average of 16.4°C. This record high departure from average not only beats the previous August record set in 2005 by 0.08°C, but also beats the previous all-time record set just two months ago in June 2014 by 0.03°C." The full report gives details of temperature and precipitation anomalies globally and a map showing major climate and weather events.
• 20 September 2014 - New NexGen forecasts for NT complete rollout of Bureau's upgrade Australia-wide. During October 2014, the Bureau of Meteorology will extend its NexGen Forecast and Warning System to the Northern Territory, thus completing the rollout of this new system nationwide. The date in October, subject to technical and operational requirements, is expected to be the 8th. Seven day forecasts will be available for 96 NT locations, normally updated twice daily, while new forecast elements will also help those in agricultural pursuits. There will be special seven day forecasts available for the Kakadu, Litchfield and Uluru Kata-Tjuta national parks. There will be new district forecast boundaries. Upgraded coastal waters forecasts will be made out to 4 days and include more detail. For more information go here, and while there check the links to brochures for the different types of forecast that show samples and area boundaries.
• 9 September 2014 - Forecast lower El Niño development likelihood continues. The Bureau of Meteorology's latest ENSO wrap-up says that, despite some warming in the tropical Pacific over the past month, ENSO remains neutral. It cautions, however, that there is still more than double the normal chance of an El Niño developing by the end of the year.
• 4 September 2014 - Bureau Climate Outlook upgraded. The Bureau of Meteorology's monthly and seasonal rainfall and temperature outlook has been given a major facelift that allows you to extract what it means for your location. The maps for rainfall, maximumum and minimum temperature probabilities for each of the next three months, and the whole period, are now interactive. You can zoom in on an area, click your location, and up comes a box with the specific probabilities for that location. This improvement follows the addition a while ago of a video version of the outlook.
• 15 August 2014 - Cairns radar upgrade. The radar on Saddle Mountain, NW of Cairns, is to undergo a major upgrade between 18 August and 1 November. During that time, reduced services will be available for the area from Cairns Airport radar. These will not be full-time services, because the radar is also used four times daily for upper air wind-finding observations, and the area of coverage is not as broad as that offered from Saddle Mountain. Townsville radar to the SSE and Weipa to the NW both cover parts of the Cairns radar area 24 hours a day, while Willis Island covers the maritime area to the east of Cairns in wind-finding mode.
• 13 August 2014 - Forecast lower chance of El Nino developing continue. Despite some recent signs of El Nino development, forecast models continue to be 50/50 as to whether there will be an El Nino in Australia over the coming summer period, and even if there is the expectation is that it will be mild. Details are in the latest Bureau El Nino Wrap-up, and the more detailed Climate Model Summary. Offsetting the signs of a developing El Nino in the Pacific is a continuing negative Indian Ocean Dipole outlook. Negative IODs typically bring wetter conditions to inland and southern Australia during winter and spring.
• 8 August 2014 - Weather Warnings page updated. An updated page that provides links to, and explanations of, weather warnings for Australia, other countries, oceans and some experimental warning services is available - use the Warnings link in the links box on the main forecasts page, or use this direct link.