On a dry autumn day across the vast majority of the continent, relatively small but intense areas of rain are dampening two corners of the country more than 3,000 kilometres apart.

Australia’s weather this Wednesday is dominated by a large high pressure system centred over the Cameron Corner area – where New South Wales, South Australia and Queensland meet. That system is causing stable conditions in most areas.

But rain fell in Perth and nearby parts of Western Australia overnight and into Wednesday morning, while rain continues on Wednesday afternoon in Far North Queensland due to the remnants of ex-Tropical Cyclone Maila.

Let’s break down the current weather conditions in southwest WA and Far North Queensland:

Handy rainfall in Perth

An upper level trough generated healthy rainfall totals for April in Perth early this morning, with 11.6mm recorded in the city and similar or even slightly higher totals in some suburbs.

This was:

Perth’s first rainfall to date in April 2026 after two dry weeks.

Just the second day this year with a double-digit rainfall total, after the exceptionally heavy fall (for early autumn) of 62.8mm on March 28, which was associated with the remnants of ex-Tropical Cyclone Narelle.

The rain in Perth this Wednesday fell in a relatively narrow band moving in a southeasterly direction. Some inland areas in the wheat belt also got a soaking, including 22.4mm at Quairading, a small town about 170km east of the state capital.

Only very light falls were recorded south of Perth in the South West and South Coastal forecast districts.

Looking ahead, scattered showers and storms are again possible for parts of central and southern WA on Thursday as another upper trough moves in.

Showers are then likely on Friday into Saturday across the southwest as a cold front clips the corner of the continent, however rainfall totals should be relatively light.

Wet from Cape York to Mackay

In the diagonally opposite corner of the country, rainfall totals exceeding 40mm were recorded at weather stations along the coast from Lockhart River on the east coast of Cape York all the way to Mackay, nearly 1500km south.

The heaviest rainfall totals in the 24 hours to 9am were along the stretch of coastline from Cairns to Tully (about 140m south of Cairns) and the adjacent ranges.

The heaviest fall was 95mm at Topaz, a weather station on the North Johnstone River near Innisfail.

Image: Eight-hour radar loop for Queensland up to 1pm (AEST) on Wednesday, April 15, 2026. Source: Weatherzone.

As the radar loop above shows, rainfall is still surging across the coastline, with the likelihood of significant falls reaching central parts of the state in coming days

Fun fact: which Australian cities are furthest apart in a straight line?

Technically, Darwin and Hobart are the two Australian cities which are furthest apart, with around 3700 kilometres between them as the crow flies.

But if you’re measuring the distance between mainland cities (whether they’re capitals or regional cities), then you can’t beat the 3400 kilometres that separate Cairns and Perth.

It’s not often that the two main weather focal points on any given day of Australian weather are the two mainland cities which also happen to be furthest apart.