A strong cold front, trough and associated low are crossing southeast Australia today, Sunday, bringing scattered thunderstorms, strong to damaging winds and areas of moderate to heavy rain. The system follows a notably dry and warm end to April, with this event delivering some of the first meaningful rainfall to parts of the southeast in over a week. 

Rainfall totals have been modest overall, with western and central Victoria seeing the most widespread falls of 15 mm or more. Several sites recorded their highest May daily rainfall in 5 to 18 years, particularly around Edenhope and Longerenong. The highest total was 33.8 mm at Mount William, while South Australia saw lighter but still notable falls, with Mount Lofty recording 24.8 mm as the highest in that state. The following observations highlight the most significant 24-hour rainfall totals recorded to 9am Sunday across the southeast: 

Vic: 

• Mount William — 33.8 mm; 

• Longerenong — 22.2 mm (highest May daily rainfall in 9 years); 

• Edenhope — 22.0 mm (highest May daily rainfall in 18 years); 

• Hamilton — 20.6 mm (highest May daily rainfall in 6 years, and highest total overall since June 2025); 

• Horsham — 20.0 mm (highest May daily rainfall in 9 years); 

• Casterton — 19.8 mm (highest May daily rainfall in 7 years, and highest total overall since Dec 2025); 

• Charlton — 17.8 mm (highest May daily rainfall in 7 years); 

• Dartmoor — 16.8 mm (highest May daily rainfall in 6 years, and highest total overall since Dec 2025); 

SA: 

• Mount Lofty — 24.8 mm; 

• Moomba Airport — 17.6 mm; 

• Naracoorte — 17.2 mm (highest May daily rainfall in 18 years); 

• Parndana — 16.6 mm; 

• Kuitpo — 15.8 mm; 

Wind gusts have been strongest across alpine Vic and exposed coastal and elevated sites, with several locations recording gusts above 80 km/h in a gusty northerly to northwesterly flow ahead of the front. The peak gust reached 105.6 km/h at Mount Hotham, with multiple alpine sites exceeding 80 km/h, while SA also recorded locally strong gusts along coastal and elevated areas. 

Vic: 

• Mount Hotham — 105.6 km/h at 04:55 EST Sun 3 May; 

• Mount Buller — 90.7 km/h at 10:30 EST Sun 3 May; 

• Falls Creek — 83.3 km/h at 10:00 EST Sun 3 May; 

• Grampians (Mount William) — 83.3 km/h at 01:30 EST Sun 3 May; 

• Ben Nevis — 85.2 km/h at 04:30 EST Sun 3 May; 

NSW: 

• Thredbo AWS — 87.0 km/h at 12:30 EST Sat 2 May; 

• Thredbo AWS — 81.5 km/h at 06:00 EST Sun 3 May; 

SA: 

• Neptune Island — 96.3 km/h at 04:14 CST Sun 3 May; 

• Cape Borda — 83.3 km/h at 08:50 CST Sun 3 May; 

This rainfall is particularly welcome after a very dry and warm end to April, driven by a strong and slow-moving high pressure system centred over the Tasman Sea, which suppressed rainfall across much of the southeast.

The mean sea level pressure loop for the last week of April highlights this pattern, with the persistent high in the Tasman Sea dominating the synoptic setup for several days. 

Image: Mean sea level pressure chart loop from 23 April 00 UTC to 30 April 00 UTC 2026. Source: BoM. 

Overall, April rainfall was well below average across large parts of the country, falling in the lowest 10% of all Aprils since 1900 for most of southeastern and eastern Australia.

Image: Australian rainfall deciles for April 2026 (based on 1900–2026). Source: BoM. 

Looking ahead, the system will continue moving east, delivering more significant rainfall to central and eastern Vic and eastern NSW during Sunday and into Monday, with 40 to 80 mm possible, heaviest over elevated terrain. Strong winds and showers may linger into Tuesday across parts of Vic in the wake of the system.