On May 30 (local time), the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) issued a serious weather warning for the entire southwest of Western Australia (WA), where a deep low pressure system is entering the mainland and is forecast to cause heavy rain, strong winds and many extreme weather phenomena.
According to BoM, from the evening of May 30, many densely populated areas in southwestern Western Australia may record gusts exceeding 125 km/h. This is a level of wind that usually only appears in tropical cyclones of level 2.
The meteorological agency warns people to reinforce their houses, fix outdoor items and prepare to respond to the risk of power outages, floods as well as damage caused by strong winds.
In addition to strong winds, the storm may also entail thunderstorms, localized heavy rain, flash floods, dangerous sea waves and even tornadoes in some coastal areas.
Meteorologist Daniel Hayes said that although early winter storms are not uncommon in Western Australia, this weather system is assessed to be stronger and more significantly affected than normal.
Forecasts show that rainfall in 6 hours in some central western areas of the state could reach 60mm from the evening of May 30 to the morning of May 31.
The entire southwestern coastal area of Western Australia has also been placed on alert due to unusual high tides and large waves that could cause damage.
From May 31, the risk of flooding may appear in low-lying areas. People are advised to stay away from beaches and coastal areas that are easily affected by large waves.
According to forecasts, this weather system will continue to move eastward, affecting South Australia from May 31 before spreading to Victoria and New South Wales early next week. Melbourne may record gusts of about 50 km/h on the evening of June 1, while high mountainous areas in Victoria are likely to experience snowfall.
While Australia is responding to the early winter extreme weather, meteorologists in this country are also closely monitoring the possibility of El Nino phenomenon forming again in the Pacific in the coming months.
Previous El Nino waves often caused significant reduction in rainfall, increasing the risk of widespread drought and forest fires.
Some international climate experts warn that the combination of El Nino and global warming could push the global average temperature up sharply, even making 2027 one of the hottest years ever recorded.
