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 VIC, TAS: Storm-force winds as depression brushes past. A deepening secondary low skirted Tasmania's south coast late morning bringing a period of storm to hurricane-force winds to exposed parts of the island, Bass Strait and VIC. The low deepened from 995hPa at 5am EDT when just SW of TAS to 980hPa 12 hours later when well SE of the state. High wind gusts are listed below and include 133km/h at Hogan Island in Bass Strait, 131km/h atop Mt Wellington, 126 at Wilsons Promontary and 117 at Mt Hotham. Hogan Island's average windspeed was 64.5km/h over the 24 hours from 9am today.
NSW: High temperatures and small bushfires. NSW, and the Central and Illawarra Coasts in particular, sizzled in the belt of hot air that has been making its way slowly across the southern half of the continent over the past week. At Sydney Airport, the temperature hit 39.2, 15.3C above average. Penrith and Homebush reported 39.4, with only Bourke (40.5), Wanaaring (39.8) and Walgett (39.5) in the state's northwest recording higher temperatures. Bushfires were burning in the state's southeast and Riverina though none were threatening property. In the southeast, two fires were burning in the Big Jack Mountain areas east of Bombala, another was under control in the Nadgee area south of Eden and a fourth was contained at six hectares near Wyndham. Across the border in East Gippsland, two 10 hectare fires that began yesterday were burning at Cape Conran and near Genoa. In the Riverina, the Mathoura fire burning in Moira State Forest had burnt through 320 hectares since being started by lightning last Friday.
QLD: State on fire alert as blazes continue. Fire bans continued in most coastal areas from Townsville south as widely scattered fires continued. Firefighters continue to backburn and put in containment lines around a major fire at Wondunna, SE of Hervey Bay, while grass fires broke out today at Pleystowe west of Mackay, Pilton SE of Toowoomba, and Hatton Vale and Minden west of Ipswich. A large grassfire at Habana NW of Mackay burnt out an abandonned house.
NT, WA: Thunderstorms signal end of the Dry. Thunderstorms have begun to deliver significant rainfall and some relief from the heat of the Dry across the NT Top End and the WA Kimberley. Heavy rain from storms late yesterday evening gave Lambells Lagoon, 45km ESE of Darwin, 78.6mm while the Darwin suburbs of Berrimah and Marrara both reported 38.6mm. A storm in Darwin this afternoon brought down a tree cutting power to hundreds of homes in the Bees Creek/Virginia area about 2.30pm. In northern WA there have been heavy storm falls in the northern and eastern Kimberley. El Questro, 60km SSW of Wyndham, recorded 34.6mm in a storm late yesterday afternoon.
International Events
 UK: High winds, possible tornado cause damage in Hampshire. Localised winds estimated by the Met Office at up to 100mph (160 km/h) brought down trees damaging cars and house roofs in the New Forest, Romsey and around Winchester early this afternoon. A couple in Liss, about 30km east of Winchester, just managed to get our of their home before four trees were blown onto it. The Met Office said "evidence suggests it may have been a tornado."
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