Severe thunderstorms: Know your weather, know your risk

This year's campaign runs from 8 September to 12 October, strategically timed ahead of Australia's high-risk weather season.

Each week highlights a different type of severe weather

• • Bushfire 
  • Flood
  • Severe Thunderstorms
  • Heatwave
  • Tropical Cyclone

Severe weather patterns

Typical weather patterns that can lead to severe weather or coastal hazards include:

• active and recently decayed tropical cyclones moving inland or into southern regions, sometimes interacting with cold fronts
• monsoon lows producing widespread gales and/or heavy rain in the tropics
• deep low pressure systems called east coast lows that can form in the Tasman Sea and affect the east coast of Australia
• vigorous squally cold fronts
• strong pressure gradients causing land gales – particularly in exposed alpine regions
• distant tropical cyclones or other low pressure systems producing ocean swells at Australian shores, causing damaging or dangerous surf
• broad, moist cloudbands extending from the tropics to southern Australia, causing heavy rainfall
• winds strengthening down the slopes of higher areas. This can cause damaging wind gusts called downslope winds.

Understanding severe thunderstorms

 To learn more about

• east coast lows
• types of thunderstorms, how they develop and the weather conditions they bring
• tornadoes and when we see them in Australia
• tropical severe thunderstorms
• severe weather and coastal hazard warning services and where to find safety advice.

Visit the Bureau of Meteorology's website for links, resources and the most up-to-date information.