Sydney is about to record its driest autumn spell on record before an east coast low brings heavy falls near 100mm. In the past 29 days Sydney has only received 0.6mm of rain. By tomorrow morning the city will have recorded the driest 30 day autumn spell on record. The previous record holder was 1.2mm in March-April 1980. Sydney's records go back to 1859.
The beautiful, mostly sunny weather has been due to a dominance of high pressure over New South Wales. All that will end on Wednesday as a low pressure trough approaches from the west. On Wednesday skies will be cloudy with areas of light rain developing across the Sydney Basin, likely providing 5-10mm. However this is only a foretaste of the rain to come.
Widespread rain is due to impact South Australia, New South Wales, northern Victoria and southern Queensland as a low pressure system and trough move east next week. The trough is expected to deepen over the WA Pilbara on Sunday, beginning an almost nation-wide rain event. Rain will spread into the WA Interior and then reach western parts of South Australia on Monday morning.
South Australia can expect widespread rain due to the broad trough and a developing low pressure system in the Bight. The heaviest rain should impact the Eyre Peninsula, with 20-40mm likely to fall. Most of the state will gain more than 10mm with large portions likely to gain around 20mm.
At least six people have been killed and about 100 injured after several tornadoes ripped through northern Texas, local media reports. The main scene of destruction is Granbury, south-west of Dallas, NBC reports.
Hood County sheriff Roger Deeds has warned the death toll could rise as 14 people remain unaccounted for.
The Victorian and New South Wales Alps have gained their heaviest snowfall so far this year. Overnight the temperature dropped below freezing at times across the NSW and VIC resorts with snow below 1500 metres in some places. There are reports that over 20cm of snow fell at Falls Creek, Thredbo and Perisher.
The snow has arrived due to a low pressure system in the Tasman Sea. The low has brought a cold airmass and enough moisture for a significant pre-season dumping.
The season has broken - Adelaide gone from its warmest late autumn weather on record to its coolest, wettest week since winter, in just a few days. In the five days to last Saturday the city averaged a maximum of 28.5 degrees, nine degrees above average and the warmest it has been this late in autumn in 136 years of records.
Since a cold front arrived on Saturday it has cooled down significantly. The city only reached 15.8 degrees on Monday, its coldest day since spring. The cold front was strong enough and contained enough moisture for 14mm of rain to fall.
Most residents in Victoria woke to a dampened soil this morning, after many places saw their best rain in months. Rain developed in western parts on Sunday morning and spread east as a low pressure trough and cold front crossed the state.
There were widespread falls of 5-15mm over western and central parts of Victoria to 9am this morning, with even heavier falls in the southwest and northeast. This would have come as welcome relief for farmers, with many places sitting well short of their average rainfall over the first four months of the year.
In the three days until Sunday, Hobart experienced its warmest weather this late in autumn in 74 years, averaging a maximum temperature of 21.5 degrees. Nights have also been warm during the past few days with minimum temperatures coming in more than four degrees above the May average.
A strong cool change with a front and a low pressure system will see both the days and nights become cooler with widespread showers from Tuesday.
Carnarvon avocado growers have seen a production drop this year, with one grower reporting yields from his crop have been halved. A slower year was expected after a heatwave burnt ripening crops in February but strong prices have helped growers, up around 40 per cent on last year.
Wes Bassett, a biodynamic avocado grower in Carnarvon, says it's too early to tell if high prices will make up for the drop in production.
Farmers in southern NSW have had light falls of rain in the past 24 hours and say it could make all the difference to their seasonal outlook. There have been widespread showers in the Riverina, with reports of up to 20 millimetres at Wagga Wagga, and 14 millimetres at Holbrook.
Further north, at Lake Cargelligo in the central west of the state, farmer Peter McFadyen has had 11 millimetres and is hopeful of more.
