Extreme Weather in Australia — Cyclones, Heatwaves, Bushfires, and Hail

Since the year started off with severe weather warnings being reported all over the news, we’ll talk about some of the weather extremes that the country has experienced in recent years. This would be specially useful to you if you have yet to migrate to Australia as it will give you an idea on what to look out for, weather wise, when you move here.

Cyclones, heavy rainfall and flooding

According to the Bureau of Meteorology, the cyclone season in Australia lasts from November to April. The most recent ones were the tropical cyclones Seth and Tiffany, which the country welcomed year 2022 with (Update 05/04/2022: Some parts of NSW and QLD have recently repeatedly experienced flooding). Tropical cyclones usually cause strong wind gusts, widespread heavy rainfall and storm surges. Depending on the severity, a tropical cyclone in Australia can cause major flooding, damage to property/ agriculture, and loss of power etc. There are 5 tropical cyclone categories which describes the cyclone’s severity. The short video below explains each of the categories in detail.

If you’ve migrated from the Philippines to Australia, then having to deal with cyclones (typhoons in the PH) isn’t new to you. The difference, I guess, lies in how much it affects the people. Just take houses for example. There have been strict building regulations in Australia since 1985. These regulations require new houses in areas that are cyclone-prone to be built in a way that could withstand stronger winds. This means that in comparison, houses here are not as devastated when a cyclone hits. Whereas in the Philippines, I don’t believe such regulations exist or if it does, not many seem to follow it. For your reference, the video below shows a bit about the after effects of Super Typhoon Rai to the Philippines.

Heatwaves in the summer

So, where to begin? It is summer in Australia at the moment so I kind of feel strongly about this. I don’t know about others but in my opinion, summers in Australia are, horrible. I feel so bad saying that because I absolutely love living in Australia but the summers are just way too hot! On average, the temperature during summer here is around 30°C and can even get to around 50°C specially when there’s a heatwave. A heatwave is more than just a hotter than usual weather. It’s an unusually high maximum and minimum temperatures, well above average, over a period of three or more days in a location.

I’ve listed some things that would help me paint a picture of what summers have been like for me here. These are:

• I sweat almost all of the time even shortly after I shower
• I hate cooking because the heat in the kitchen makes it even hotter
• Air conditioners do help but running it can get expensive. And if there’s a heatwave, it will only make it somewhat bearable.
• The inside of the car is like the inside of an oven, almost everything will burn you i.e. belt buckles, leather seats, steering wheel, doors etc. so be careful of what you touch or when you sit.
• Worse sunburns
• It’s often too hot to do anything. It’s hard to function.
• I almost always feels like I’m dehydrated no matter how much water I drink

Bushfires

But bushfires are a common occurrence throughout the Australian landscape since the climate is very hot and dry. Some parts of Australia are prone to bushfires at any time of the year. It’s also pretty normal to see bushfire warnings on the side of the road which ranges from low-moderate to catastrophic (as shown above). It’s also pretty common to see deliberate/ planned burns usually done by the local council with the aim of reducing the fuel hazard in areas that are bushfire-prone. 

Hailstorms

Hailstorms are a dangerous and costly weather phenomena which usually happens during the storm season (November to April). Hail is basically solid precipitation in the form of ice balls called hailstones. Hailstones are usually smaller than 25mm but it can get much bigger. For example, the hailstone found near Mackay here in Queensland last year was a record breaking 16cm!

I’ve never seen hailstones prior to moving to Australia so I found it pretty cool to see. But as I’ve mentioned before, they can be dangerous, specially the bigger ones if it hits you and costly as they can damage properties such as cars and houses. In saying that, I want to mention that it’s important to ask your insurance provider if your policy covers hailstorm damage.

What I think of the weather in Australia? 

Being that it’s summer here at the moment, all I could think of is that it’s crazy hot. But in general, I think that the weather in Australia is varied. Winter is my absolute favourite as it can get quite cool but not freezing cold like in countries like Canada or in the Europe. The weather also somewhat varies depending on which Australian state you’re in. Now as discussed above, we also experience extreme weather but I don’t think it’s anything that you should be afraid of but definitely prepared for. 

Disclaimer All content and information in this post is for purposes of sharing my experiences only, does not constitute professional advice and does not establish any kind of professional-client relationship.

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