The slow forecast
Australian weather, longer reads.
Original journalism on weather, climate, and the people who chase, study, and survive both. Updated weekly.
Long read
The $96 million weather website that couldn't find its own radar
How BOM's 2025 redesign turned the country's most-used public utility into the most-criticised, and what the next chapter looks like.
Cyclone season
BOM's seasonal outlook: an above-average wet from Cape York to the Top End
A weak La Niña and a positive IOD push the odds toward more rainfall through autumn.
Heatwave
Marble Bar, again: three weeks of 40+ and what it does to a town
Local reporters spend a fortnight in WA's furnace and come back with notes on power, sleep, and resilience.
Severe weather
Inside a supercell: the chase team that called Tuesday's Brisbane storm
Three private meteorologists, one drone, and the radar imagery that put the SES on the road 40 minutes early.
Climate
The Murray-Darling's wettest two years in a decade are about to end
Inflow forecasts say the basin returns to long-term-dry over autumn. What that means for irrigation pricing.
Marine
How surf forecasters in 2026 know exactly when the swell turns on
A new ensemble model and three sets of buoys give Bondi-to-Bells eight days of lead time.
Data sources
Open-Meteo, Hyper3D Rodin, and the future of Australian weather data
Why we built on the open ecosystem and what we want from BOM as it modernises.