State warned to brace for drenching over the coming week as first cold front of winter hits
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here West Australians are no strangers to a bit of bad weather with a tornado hitting Bunbury and a microburst in Perth Hills in the past year alone. After a warm end to autumn, Perth's first cold front of winter is set to hit this WA Day long weekend. (9News) But, according to the experts, the next round is imminent and residents are being urged to get their homes ready. "We've started to see that the high pressure system to the south of the state that has kept a lot of these early season cold fronts at bay is starting to weaken," Gianni Colangelo from the Bureau of Meteorology said. Parts of the state are set to get drenched with a month's worth of rain over the next week, up to 100 millimetres, but forecasters can't say exactly where will be hardest hit. With the first cold front of the season due to hit on Monday, WA Day, authorities are urging people to act over the weekend. Parts of the state are set to get drenched with a month's worth of rain over the next week, up to 100 millimetres but forecasters can't say exactly where will be hardest hit. (9News) "It's time now to clean up around your home and also around your yard," Commissioner Craig Waters from the Department of Fire and Emergency Services said. "To make sure that you've trimmed back all the trees that are overhanging your property, also making sure that your gutters are clean, you're checking the roof to make sure you don't have any loose tiles." Last year, SES volunteers responded to more than 1000 calls for assistance, spending an average of three and a half hours at each property, often for damage that could have been prevented. Last year, SES volunteers responded to more than 1000 calls for assistance, often for damage that could have been prevented. (9News) "It's time that we all took time to prepare ourselves, prepare your homes, do what you can to make the job of our State Emergency Service and other volunteers a lot easier," Emergency Services Minister Paul Papalia said. The front will extend from the north-west cape to the south-east and is expected to last three days. national
Weather News
Weather
Western Australia
Perth
Rain
Thunderstorm CONTACT US
Auto news: Google Gemini AI assistant coming to new cars in 2025.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

The Age
15 hours ago
- The Age
‘Seemingly endless fire season' predicted for Victoria this winter
Climate scientist David Karoly said there had been long-term declines in average snow cover and depth, and the length of the snow season, over the past 30 years. 'To get the big snow dumps ... that build the snow base and allow it to survive rainfall … is associated with cold temperatures that flow from the Antarctic region. And unfortunately this season, and for many of the past few winters, there's been much above average temperatures.' Abnormally warm and dry conditions have been repeated in South Australia, with communities in the state's southern coastal areas, and significant portions of western, south-western and south-eastern Victoria, warned to prepare for unseasonable bushfire risks. Loading Winter follows an autumn that was book-ended by a cyclone in the Brisbane region and floods in the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales, while inland areas suffered record-breaking drought because of the position of the Southern Annular Mode. Bureau of Meteorology climatologist Caitlin Minney said it was unclear when the drought would break. All the while, the continent was ringed by a marine heatwave that killed coral in both Queensland and Western Australia and millions of fish in salmon farms in Tasmania. In South Australia, a bloom of Karenia mikimotoi algae has blanketed thousands of square kilometres of the ocean with discoloured water and foam for weeks, killing fish, sharks, rays, seahorses and other gilled species. The SA government said experts believed the marine heatwave – 2.5 degrees warmer than usual – combined with calm conditions, light wind and small swells had led to the bloom off the coast of the Fleurieu Peninsula, Kangaroo Island and the southern coast of Yorke Peninsula. King said the link between climate change and heatwaves, both on land and in the ocean, was clear. It was more difficult to attribute specific rainfall events to global warming, though a warmer atmosphere could hold more moisture. Closer to home, Country Fire Authority Acting Chief Officer Garry Cook said bushfires remained a real risk despite the onset of winter. 'The lack of rainfall and dry vegetation across many parts of the state is a great concern for firefighters this time of the year, and we're asking people to remain vigilant and not become complacent just because we're not in summer any more,' he said. 'While cooler days are arriving, the landscape remains dry enough to allow fires to start and spread quickly if a burn-off gets out of control, especially when coupled with strong winds.' Cropping and grassland areas would be grazed out or mostly bare, according to the Australian and New Zealand council for fire and emergency services, but forested areas would be at increased risk of fires. Weatherzone meteorologist Ben Domensino said the ongoing drought across parts of Victoria and SA was causing 'a seemingly endless 2025 fire season'. 'Tasmania is also likely to see organic soils smouldering throughout winter due to the state's ongoing deep soil dryness,' he said.

Sydney Morning Herald
15 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘Seemingly endless fire season' predicted for Victoria this winter
Climate scientist David Karoly said there had been long-term declines in average snow cover and depth, and the length of the snow season, over the past 30 years. 'To get the big snow dumps ... that build the snow base and allow it to survive rainfall … is associated with cold temperatures that flow from the Antarctic region. And unfortunately this season, and for many of the past few winters, there's been much above average temperatures.' Abnormally warm and dry conditions have been repeated in South Australia, with communities in the state's southern coastal areas, and significant portions of western, south-western and south-eastern Victoria, warned to prepare for unseasonable bushfire risks. Loading Winter follows an autumn that was book-ended by a cyclone in the Brisbane region and floods in the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales, while inland areas suffered record-breaking drought because of the position of the Southern Annular Mode. Bureau of Meteorology climatologist Caitlin Minney said it was unclear when the drought would break. All the while, the continent was ringed by a marine heatwave that killed coral in both Queensland and Western Australia and millions of fish in salmon farms in Tasmania. In South Australia, a bloom of Karenia mikimotoi algae has blanketed thousands of square kilometres of the ocean with discoloured water and foam for weeks, killing fish, sharks, rays, seahorses and other gilled species. The SA government said experts believed the marine heatwave – 2.5 degrees warmer than usual – combined with calm conditions, light wind and small swells had led to the bloom off the coast of the Fleurieu Peninsula, Kangaroo Island and the southern coast of Yorke Peninsula. King said the link between climate change and heatwaves, both on land and in the ocean, was clear. It was more difficult to attribute specific rainfall events to global warming, though a warmer atmosphere could hold more moisture. Closer to home, Country Fire Authority Acting Chief Officer Garry Cook said bushfires remained a real risk despite the onset of winter. 'The lack of rainfall and dry vegetation across many parts of the state is a great concern for firefighters this time of the year, and we're asking people to remain vigilant and not become complacent just because we're not in summer any more,' he said. 'While cooler days are arriving, the landscape remains dry enough to allow fires to start and spread quickly if a burn-off gets out of control, especially when coupled with strong winds.' Cropping and grassland areas would be grazed out or mostly bare, according to the Australian and New Zealand council for fire and emergency services, but forested areas would be at increased risk of fires. Weatherzone meteorologist Ben Domensino said the ongoing drought across parts of Victoria and SA was causing 'a seemingly endless 2025 fire season'. 'Tasmania is also likely to see organic soils smouldering throughout winter due to the state's ongoing deep soil dryness,' he said.

Sydney Morning Herald
19 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
The parched part of Victoria where even football fields are ground down by drought
The meagre grass cover at the ground was only possible thanks to water supplied from a nearby property when the club was trying to resow the ground. Nearby dairy farmer Josh Parsons pumped water from his dam to the football ground in March. But with the water level now dropping below halfway, Parsons said he was no longer able to continue providing water. 'If it doesn't fill this winter, I've got to get through all next summer as well,' he said. Parsons, who milks 300 cows and has 600 acres of land, said last autumn was terrible, and this one had been worse. He said he began the summer with enough fodder that would usually last well over 1½ years. But without rain, Parsons said that would be gone by late August. Although winter typically brings reliable rain in south-west Victoria, the region is now into its second year of prolonged dry weather. Colac has had its lowest rainfall on record for an 18-month period ending in April, according to the Bureau of Meteorology. Colac's water storages are now down to about 50 per cent. In the 25 months since April 2023, the coastline from Warrnambool to Cape Otway has had its lowest rainfall on record. Monash University climate scientist Ailie Gallant said heavy rain events were now required to break the drought. 'Unfortunately, at the moment there's no indication they're on the horizon,' she said. Gallant said storms, particularly in south-west Victoria, had been less frequent or dropping smaller quantities of rain than usual. The regions from Adelaide through to south-western Victoria were the areas hit the hardest by drought, she said. Loading 'For a drought to go on this long and have these consistently low monthly rainfalls – that's a big deal. It's not good,' she said. Gallant said while south-west Victoria might still be receiving higher rainfall totals than other typically dry regions, it was still causing widespread social problems and undermining agriculture in drought-affected areas. 'Drought is all relative to the location,' she said. 'It's not going to be as dry necessarily as Mildura. But the point is that the south-west area is used to higher rainfall.' The Victorian government has faced a fierce backlash from farmers after it sought to introduce a new Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund, to replace the Fire Services Property Levy, under which property owners pay to help fund the Country Fire Authority and Fire Rescue Victoria. From July the new levy will fund all emergency services. But farmers had railed against the government's plans after many faced levy increases of up to 150 per cent. On Friday, Premier Jacinta Allan announced a one-year pause on the contentious tax hike for farmers. The government also announced extended drought relief measures after weeks of political pressure. In a statement, the government said that rainfall in May reached the worst-case scenario projected at the beginning of the month. It committed an additional $37.7 million in drought funding, providing $5000 in grants to provide support on farms. That figure will rise to $10,000 for farmers in south-west Victoria and parts of the Wimmera, where the drought has hit particularly hard. The government said the conditions had left paddocks and dams dry while fodder prices had doubled. In May, the government agreed to allow farmers in 24 drought-affected areas to pay a reduced emergency services levy. On Friday, it extended that to all primary producers for the 2025-26 year. Allan said the drought was affecting farmers across the state. 'There will be people going to the wall. Some really tough decisions are being made right now.' Dairy farmer Matt Reid 'It's why we're expanding support statewide,' she said. Victorian Farmers Federation president Brett Hosking welcomed the increased funding but called for the new levy to be scrapped. Councils will have to collect the levy, and many have pushed back against the increased payments. Last week, the Baw Baw and Loddon shire councils voted to oppose the tax, urging the state government to back down. Loading Matt Reid, a dairy farmer and the Western Eagles' vice president, said the news that farmers would not pay the increased levy for a year would come as a relief. But he said farmers were still hurting, with long waits at abattoirs as producers sought to offload stock because they could not afford feed and water. He described the drought as a 'shake-out event' and some farmers would be forced to leave the land. 'There will be people going to the wall,' he said. 'Some really tough decisions are being made right now.'