Weather News

Storms strike Kimberley amid heightened fire danger

Ben Domensino, Thursday September 20, 2018 - 15:22 AEST

Dry season showers and thunderstorms are bringing some of the most notable rain in about five months to parts of WA and the NT, but also raising the threat of fires.

A mass of cloud forming near a trough over northern WA is being carried across central Australia today by a river of strong upper-level winds called the jet stream.

This cloud has already caused some noteworthy rain, albeit fairly light. During the 24 hours to 9am on Thursday, Mandorah in the west Kimberley picked up 0.6mm of rain. While this doesn't seem like much, it's their best fall since April and nearly the entire September monthly average for the site.

The cloud-producing trough also separates a mass of warm air sitting over the north Kimberley and Top End from cooler air to its south. The contrast between these two air masses is helping to produce blustery winds today, which is elevating the risk of fires. A fire weather warning has is in the Kimberley Inland fire weather district.

Any storms that form along the northern edge of the cloud band today may exacerbate the fire threat by producing blustery winds in areas where the air is dry and temperatures are high.

Visit http://www.weatherzone.com.au/warnings.jsp for the latest warnings.

- Weatherzone

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