"There's a storm coming [Australia], and we all best be ready when she does"

Southern Australia is expecting another bought of rain, winds and lightning across the country these next three days. 

Satellite image of the Low and trough arms over southeast Western Australia at 2:49pm
Image: Two-hour satellite loop from 12:20pm AEST to 2:20pm AEST on Sunday 23rd. Source: Weatherzone

A low pressure system over southeastern Western Australia is spiralling east, crossing the entire bottom half of the country and moving off the east coast early Wednesday. Two cloud arms, with troughs extending from the low, are bringing storms to south and eastern WA and are expected to continue to do so as the system travels east. 

The first cloud arm brought thunderstorms and lightning over WA's interior since late morning Saturday 22nd. The trough causing this arm is drawing moisture from the tropical waters to WA's northwest. Warm and humid, this airstream has ample fuel for storms to continue. And with clear skies ahead of it, the desert sands baked by the hot afternoon sun should maintain the energy source for this arm to keep popping storms over the next few days. 

Image: Forecast atmospheric moisture at 11:00am AEST Sunday 23rd, 2026. Source: Weatherzone

The second arm is driven by cold air being injected in by a cold front. But as a high pressure ridge builds from the west, the pressure gradient will increase, squeezing the winds moving into this arm and making it windier than the first arm. Gusty winds are expected tomorrow morning for South Australia's Peninsulas, with gusts reaching 80km/h. 

Image: Forecast wind strength and direction at 4:00am AEST Monday 24th, 2026. Source: Weatherzone

The two arms will combine on Monday, with heavy showers and rain moving into eastern Australia on Tuesday 25th and Wednesday 26th. Rainfall totals of 50-100mm are expected over the southeast of the country between now and Wednesday, heaviest over the Australian Alps. 

Image: 3-day accumulated precipitation ending 4:00am AEST Wednesday 26th, 2026. Source: Weatherzone

This current system is unlikely to be extreme, but with the last few systems that have pasted, it's a reminder to all of us that storm season is right around the corner. So, it's time to make our final checks; clean those gutters, fix those loose shingles and be prepared to tie our outdoor furniture as the Spring Storm Fiesta draws nearer.