Australia Weather News

After a scorching summer and record-breaking temperatures in 2024, Western Australia is set for another warmer-than-usual autumn.

The latest long-range forecast from the Bureau of Meteorology predicts average rainfall across much of the state, with the chance of a wetter-than-normal season for parts of the northern Kimberley.

"We had a very delayed onset of the monsoon [season], in fact, it was record breakingly late this year," BOM meteorologist Jessica Lingard said

"Perhaps the only difference to that will be up in the northern parts of the state, where there is a slight above-average trend for the autumn season, suggesting perhaps there may be some more tropical activity for parts of the Kimberley, or perhaps even another burst of the monsoon."

Those in the South West and Agricultural regions will be glad to hear average rainfall is expected, which means between 50 to 300 millimetres this autumn.

Warmer temperatures forecast

January was a month of extreme temperatures across WA, but February has been fairly mild.

Warmer-than-average temperatures are expected in the coming months.

Perth recorded eight days of temperatures of 40C or more this summer, with the hottest day being January 20, when it reached 43.6C in the city.

The Australasian Fire and Emergency Services Authorities Council (AFAC) seasonal bushfire outlook for autumn shows an increased fire risk for large parts of WA's southern coast, after the region saw less than 50 per cent of its average rainfall this summer.

AFAC said areas north of Perth and coastal parts of the Gascoyne from near Carnarvon to Kalbarri also face a heightened risk.

Ms Lingard said only a couple of areas along the Pilbara coast had experienced above-average rainfall.

"What that means is we've had a lot of dry weather, we've had a lot of warm weather, and that's resulting in a lot of dry fuel on the ground that could be setting the stage for an increased bush fire season," she said.

Severe Tropical Cyclone Zelia, which crossed WA's Pilbara coast as a category-four system on February 14, brought damaging winds, significant rain and record-breaking flood levels, impacting many northern communities.

With the tropical cyclone season continuing through March and April, WA isn't out of the woods just yet.

Perth forecast

Perth is set to experience high temperatures next week.

Sunday: Min 19, Max 33

Monday: Min 19, Max 27

Tuesday: Min 19, Max 29

Wednesday: Min 17, Max 34

Thursday: Min 23, Max 34

Friday: Min 22, Max 32