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The page is updated every 30 minutes at about 20 and 50 minutes past the hour.
For weather news as it breaks that is tagged and organised, use the links on the Weather and Climate Media Reports page.
BoM Climate Outlook: hot, dry in the SE, wet, cool in the NW
The Bureau of Meteorology's Climate Outlook for the next three months, issued last week, is for high probabilities that it will be hot and dry in southern QLD, eastern SA and all of NSW and VIC. The wet weather is likely to continue across northern NT and WA, with much cooler conditions the result. Elsewhere in the country, there is a fairly even chance of receiving average rain, while temperatures are also likely to be close to normal.
Looking at individual months, the wet conditions in WA are expected to extend statewide during February but are counter-balanced by a much drier March. The highest chances of dry, hot weather in February are likely to be in southern QLD and northern and NE NSW, and these will extend south to cover NSW and VIC by April.
Driving the continuing rain in northern WA and NT will be an active monsoon and Madden-Julian Oscillation, continuing at least through February. This in turn pushes high pressure over the south of the country, with clear skies bringing heat and reducing the chances of much rain. The El Niño– Southern Oscillation and Indian Ocean Dipole both remain neutral, having little effect on Australia.
The full Climate Outlook is here, where there's also a good video from the BoM explaining it.
Wind, rain and hot air as low moves away from WA north coast
A depression that could still developed into a Tropical Cyclone moved west away from the WA Pilbara coast this evening. The low, to be named TC Alfred if it does develop into a cyclone as it heads west into the Indian Ocean, still brought a wet, windy period to the state's northwest.
Flood warnings are out, and flooding has closed the main North West Coastal Highway between Port Hedland and Roebourne as well as the Marble Bar Road. Strong winds have been blowing around the low, too, with Newman and Paraburdoo both recording their windiest January days in at least the past 11 years. A byproduct of the tropical depression has been high temperatures farther south, as hot northerlies pushed south through the Gascoyne into much of southern WA. Temperatures have reached 43° to a top of 45° at Morawa over the past two days. Dangerous bushfires sprang up on Wednesday around Bridgetown and in Perth's southern suburbs.
While flood rain has eased, moderate rain still continues in the WA Kimberley due to the monsoon trough. Lake Argyle, which captures the waters of the Ord and many other streams, has filled quickly and is flowing over its spillway for the first time in three years. Farmers in the irrigation scheme which the lake supplies are jubilant after three doubtful years, and Kununurra Airport, with 586.6mm of rain so far in January is close to breaking its all-time monthly record of 597.2mm in February 2014 in a 42-year climatic history.
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