Winter's Arrival to Bring Much-Needed Rainfall to Southeastern Australia

June 7, 2025

A Season of Extremes

The autumn of 2025 has brought a stark contrast across Australia: excessive rainfall along the NSW and Queensland coastlines and drought conditions across Victoria and South Australia. The culprit? A stubbornly positive Southern Annular Mode (SAM), which has dominated weather patterns and driven persistent easterly winds across the east coast. These winds delivered consistent showers and contributed to devastating floods along the NSW Mid North Coast.

Rainfall anomalies for autumn showing wet conditions across the NSW coastline, large areas of Queensland and northern Australia. However it's been very dry across Victoria, Tasmania and large areas of South Australia and parts of southern WA.

Westerlies Are Returning

Now, a welcome pattern shift is on the way. Strengthening westerly winds and the arrival of cold fronts are set to bring much-needed winter rainfall to southeastern Australia.

Over the next 7–10 days, rainfall totals of 25-50mm are likely across large parts of Victoria and southeastern South Australia, with 45–90mm possible in coastal and alpine areas. Some rainfall should also extend into southern inland NSW.

Forecast EC rainfall during the next 10 days courtesy of Weatherwatch MetCentre.

A Drying Trend for the East

Meanwhile, these same westerly winds will finally bring relief to the NSW and southern Queensland coastlines, drying out areas that have endured relentless rainfall through autumn. June typically marks the start of the dry season for southeastern Queensland, and the westerly flow will help reinforce that transition.

Winter Chill Kicks In

The change in air mass will also bring a noticeable drop in temperatures:

• Brisbane may struggle to reach 20°C on Tuesday and Wednesday, with gusty westerlies adding an extra chill.

• Sydney will likely hover in the mid-teens for maximum temperatures through Tuesday.

• Melbourne is forecast to reach just 11°C tomorrow.

850mb temperature anomalies over the coming days for Australia showing colder than usual air pushing well northwards and contributing to the winter chill. Source: Weatherwatch MetCentre.

Let It Snow

Cold air also means snowfall is on the way. 20-40cm of snow is expected across the Victorian and NSW alpine regions. Light snow may even reach parts of the NSW Central Tablelands, and by late next week, a few flurries can’t be ruled out across the NSW Northern Tablelands.

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