Weather in Australia.

I am often asked what the weather in Australia is like.

The answer is that it varies a lot!

Typically, in the northern parts, it is warm to hot all of the year and we have a (sometimes very) rainy season in the summer from November to March.

In the coastal areas around Sydney it is mild in the winter with minimum temperatures often staying above 10 to 15 degrees C.

The summers are warmer and are typically in the high 20s degree C range although summer can be tough, with temperatures reaching up to 40 degrees C or more in some places.

You should also be aware that there are some places where the weather in Australia may become very cold during the winter.

At the higher elevations the weather in Australia, especially in Tasmania, New South Wales and Victoria, can be very cold in winter, snow may be abundant and temperatures can be below freezing.

In fact many people do not know that there are some wonderful ski resorts in the mountains of Australia.

Apart from the Southern high country and Tasmania there is no snowfall in other parts of the country, however, there are extensive, well-developed ski fields in the Great Dividing Range, a few hours drive from Melbourne and Sydney.

As far as the weather in Australia is concerned August is the peak month for snowfall and ski resorts are overcrowded during this time of the year.

It’s as well however, to check the snow forecast before you go.

At the other end of the scale, Australia is bisected by the tropic of Capricorn and as a result much of Australia is in the tropics and the weather can be very warm to hot.

Maximum temperatures in the winter months in Brisbane are from 20 to 24 degrees C with minimums getting down to a cool 7 or 8 degrees on some nights and rainfall is scarce to nonexistent.

At the time of writing Brisbane is in the grips of a drought the likes of which the population has never seen.

Darwin, at the very top of Australia, has consistently warm to hot weather all year round with plenty of rain in the wet season from December to March.

Queensland and the Northern Territory, in the tropical region, have highly predictable weather. If beaches are what turn you on the beaches and tropical islands of Queensland and the Great Barrier Reef are perhaps at their most pleasant in the winter when the water is still warm but the box jellyfish are not so much of a problem.

Further south, the weather in Australia is unpredictable.

For example Melbourne in August has maximum temperatures as low as 13 degrees C, can reach as high as 23 degrees C and will often experience all four seasons in one day.

The northern states are hotter and wetter in summer but the southern states can be extremely hot, with temperatures touching 41 degrees C in Sydney, Adelaide, and Melbourne, although they rarely experience the humidity of their northern neighbours.

The temperature generally ranges from 25 and 33 degrees Celsius and is usually very pleasant.

As I said, the weather in Australia is not bad at all.

It is sunny most of the year, with blue skies and very little rain.

It never gets too cold but sometimes it gets too hot, especially during summer time.

Just follow this link for the latest weather forecast for all Australian cities and regions.

Australia is one of the driest countries on earth, and depending on the year, the weather in Australia can just go crazy, with prolonged droughts, forest (bush) fires, loss of agricultural production, and even a cyclone or two on the northern parts of the continent.

The El Niño phenomena can have huge influence on the overall Australian climate.

The outback and the deserts of Australia are no go zones during hot summers, unless you are staying in one of the subterranean towns (like Coober Pedy) where many of the houses have been built underground to combat the heat.

In these outback places things can warm up to over 50 degrees C in the shade (if you can find any).

In other parts of Australia, summer time can bring heatwaves that can last for many days.

I am talking about temps of 38 to 40 degrees C for 8 or 9 consecutive days.

Any other time of the year the temperatures in Australia are fabulous.

Here are some curiosities about the weather in Australia that you might find interesting:

When it rains the rain can fall on one block while a neighbouring block just down the road remains dry.

Melbourne has the craziest weather: the day can start freezing and blue, then turn cloudy, then little rain and it gets warmer, then cold again, and gets really hot, showers, cold air, rain and sun again.

Yes it really is like that.

Australians like to say that Melbourne has all four seasons in a single day.

Sydney is the rainiest city: despite the fact that rain in Sydney is not very frequent, when it rains it really pours, sometimes for days on end.

Sydney beats Melbourne hands down in the rain stakes.

Windiest Cities: Perth and Hobart - They receive constant winds from the Indian Ocean, from about 10 am to about sunset.

Driest City: Adelaide or Brisbane, for some obscure reason the rain refuses to fall there.

When the rain is getting close, it decides to fall before or after the city, and it seems sometimes that it only hits those cities by mistake.

Most Humid City: Cairns or Darwin: these cities, both in the tropics, provide a wonderful atmosphere for plant life but for us humans sometimes it feels like we’re being cooked in our own juices.

Cyclones (hurricanes) can occur between December and May on the North, Northeast and Northwest parts of Australia.

Sometimes Cyclones and tropical storms can flood large areas, cutting roads and all connection with the rest of the country.

The climate in Australia is officially classified as temperate in the South and Tropical in the North.

The hole in the Ozone layer in the skies above Australia is big enough to cause serious burns from the sun.

It is impressive how red a person can get from only 15 minutes under the sun on the beach; in the northern states 30 minutes will get you into hospital and you’ll receive no sympathy whatsoever from the nursing staff.

They reckon you’ve been stupid and deserve all the pain which follows.

They’re right!

Use of a heavy sun block is a must, or you may be candidate for skin cancer Australian style and that’s not very nice.

Weather, we all have to live with it and none of us can do anything about it!

We can, however be prepared for it and I hope this page has given you some idea about what to expect from the weather in Australia.

Yes, rain, snow or shine, hot or cold, there's never a need to be unprepared, so to check the current forecast for Australia or anywhere else for that matter, just click the link, be prepared, and most of all...........enjoy.

John.

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