Australia’s Summer of Extremes: A Season of Severe Storms, Hail, and Cyclones

As summer comes to an end, we reflect on the major weather events that shaped Australia over the past few months. From intense storms and tropical cyclones to extreme heat, bushfires, and flooding, this season brought significant challenges to businesses and communities.

At Early Warning Network (EWN), we provided critical forecasts and alerts to help industries mitigate risks, protect assets, and ensure the safety of employees and customers. Here, we look back at the key weather events of the season and their impacts across sectors.

Tropical Cyclones & Severe Storms

A series of destructive thunderstorms, tropical cyclones, and supercells across multiple states marked summer 2024-25:

New South Wales
1-3 December 2024 – Storms produced isolated damaging wind gusts during this period. Kurnell AWA 98km/h, Thredbo 119km/h, Cobar 91km/h, Bourke AP 95km/h. 

7 December 2024 – another round of storms through southern and central NSW produced a swathe of damaging wind gusts. Temora AP 91km/h, Jervis Bay Airfield 95km/h, Griffith AP 115km/h. 

8 December 2024 – A severe storm impacted Lismore and surrounding areas. It produced destructive wind gusts of 126km/h, with hail of around 2-3cm reported at South Gundurimba. 

27 December 2024 – Severe storms produced large hail at Boggabri (golf ball-sized), with Nombi, Yannergee, and Blackville seeing 3-5cm hailstones. 

14 January 2025 – 3-5cm Hail was recorded east of Deepwater and south of Denman. 

15 January 2025 – A widespread severe thunderstorm outbreak ripped through NSW.  Many locations across the state recorded damaging wind gusts in excess of 90km/h. Williamstown RAAF and Trangie Research Station 120km/h, Kurnell AWS 117km/h, Cabramurr Smhea AWA 113km/h. Meanwhile, 3-5cm hail was reported at Springwood, Blaxland, Webbs Creek, and St Albans. 

16 January 2025 – A violent supercell tracked across northern NSW produced widespread areas of 6-8cm hail, with a gargantuan hail of 12-13cm reported around Tucabia and surrounds. 

23 – 24 January 2025 – Widespread severe storms produced large hail from Armidale, Guyra, Glen Innes, Murwillumbah to Crabbes Creek. The biggest reported was 4-6cm at Armidale. 

28 January 2025 – A microburst impacted Dubbo with winds of 90-100km/h (estimated) 

30 January 2025 – Large hail impacted Premer to Walcha, The Pillga and South Ebor (2-5cm), with Moree registering a 91km/h wind gust. 

5 February 2025 – 2-5cm hailstones were reported at Taylor, Nicholls, Bungendore, and Currawang. 

7 February 2025 – Severe thunderstorms produced damaging wind gusts at Griffith AP 95km/h, Wagga Wagga 106km/h, Fowlers Gap 91km/h, and Trangie 100km/h 

10 February 2025 – Numerous hailstorms impacted Harde, Boorowa, Rugby, Temora, Mimosa, Tarrawonga, and West Wyalong with 2-5cm hailstones. 

A storm on 24 January 2025 at Kaimkillenbun, image courtesy of EWN's Justin Noonan

Queensland
8 – 11 January 2025 – Widespread thunderstorms produced large hail through eastern Qld. 2-5cm hail was reported at St George, Condamine, Surat, Bell, Brigooda, Booie, Cherbour, Coochin, Goondiwindi. 

12 January 2025 – Another round of severe thunderstorms was wind gusts in excess of 90km/h. Hughenden AP 119km/h, Townsville Air Weapons Range 98km/h, Hamilton Island 91km, St Lawrence 102km/h, Blackwater 93km/h. 

14 January 2025 – A supercell produced giant hail around the Granite Belt region (Stanthorpe to Leslie Dam). Hail of 8-10cm was reported. 

16 January 2025 – Locally giant 5-7cm hail was reported at Currumbin Valley, Springbrook, and Chinderah.  Large hail was also recorded around Cairns during the afternoon. (2-4cm). 

16 January 2025 – A microburst hit Brisbane’s southern suburbs (Carina, Morningside) toppling trees and powerlines. 

23 January 2025 – Supercells developed over the Darling Downs and Wide Bay region. Turalin, Condamine Plains, Kaimkillenbun, Coverty, Gaeta saw 3-5cm hailstones. A weak, brief tornado was also reported at Kaimkillenbun. Further thunderstorms hit Coolangatta with wind gusts to 93km/h. 

24 January 2025 – Large hail impacted Beaudesert and its surrounds (2-4cm) 

Victoria
7 December 2024 – 2-3cm hail reported at Mansfield and Euroa. 

26 December 2024 – A swathe of damaging winds develop on Boxing Day. Mt Gellibrand registered a localised destructive gust of 145km/h. 

15 -16 January 2025. Damaging wind gusts develop around the alpine regions of eastern Victoria. Mount Hotham saw a 98km/h wind gust. 

2 February 2025 – Severe Thunderstorms produce damaging wind gusts to 124km/h at Mt Gellibrand, 107km/h at South Channel Island, 109km/h at Port Wilson, 96km/h at Frankston Beach, and 91km/h at Avalon AP. 

South Australia
3 December 2024 – A damaging wind gust of 124km/h was recorded at Moomba. 

16 December 2024 – A rogue destructive gust was recorded at Whyalla Aero (130km/h). 

Western Australia
4 – 10 January 2025 – Severe thunderstorms brought damaging wind gusts to parts of WA. Mount Magnet Aero registered a 117km/h wind gust on the 6th, with Broome 106km/h on the 4th, and Noresman AP 104km/h on the 7th. 

19 January 2025 – Tropical Cyclone Sea moved parallel to the Western Australian coastline, helping generate areas of damaging wind gusts on its outer periphery. Legendre Island saw a 119km/h gust, Karratha AP 104km/h, and Roebourne AP 102km/h, amongst others. 

19 February 2025 – A supercell east of Perth produced a swathe of damaging wind gusts. Large trees were uprooted, and shed roofs were damaged in a line from north to south (Gidgegannup to Mount Helena). 

14 February 2025 – Severe Category 5 Tropical Cyclone Zelia lands near Ripon Island. Despite this, Zelia missed any major populated centres, with Port Hedland registering category 1 winds. 

Northern Territory
14 January 2025 – A damaging wind gust of 120km/h was registered at Yulara AP.

Tasmania
1 December 2024 – 1 January 2025 – A few frontal systems' passage saw Tasmania's higher peaks register wind gusts over 90km/h. The peak of these winds developed on the 27th December with Mount Wellington seeing a 145km/h, and Maatsuyker Island Lighthouse 130km/h. 

Flooding and Heavy rainfall 

Photo credit: Queensland Fire Service Facebook

Queensland: 

30 December 2024 – A stationary thunderstorm produced over 120mm in Kingaroy, leading to significant flash flooding. 

25 January – 6 February – Rainfall accumulation of 1000-2000mm occurred across North Queensland, with a particular focus between Cairns and Ayr. Widespread major flooding occurred. 

Western Australia: 

12-16 February 2025 – The remnants of TC Zelia produced record rainfall totals across parts of the Pilbara, leading to widespread flooding. 

Bushfires 

Victoria: 

16 December 2024 – A large and dangerous fire developed across the Grampians. This emergency fire consisted of numerous watch and act fires during its active phase. This fire lasted for a number of weeks. 

7 January 2025 – An emergency warned fire developed at Cape Otway and Hordern Vale. 

27 January – 4 February 2025 – Bushfires continued to impact the western half of Victoria with a continued focus in and around The Grampians. 

South Australia: 

25 December 2024 – 1 January 2025. 4 separate watch and act bushfires occurred during this period but were brief in nature. 

Western Australia: 

25 November – 5 December 2024 – Several watch and act fires broke out during this period, with a couple of emergency warned fires. These were at Parts of Cataby, Mimegarra, Cooljarloo and Wedge Island, Parts of Seville Grove, Forrestdale, Champion Lakes, Southern River, Gosnells and Camillo, West Toodyay and Coondle, Broomehill Village and Broomehill East, Parts of Casuarina and Anketell. 

21 January – 10 February 2025 – Numerous watch and act and emergency warned bushfires have been ongoing through the southwestern portion of Western Australia. A couple of notable fires include Skeleton Rock, Mount Holland and Marvel Loch, Parts of Bremer Bay and Boxwood Hill, Davenport, College Grove, Yabberup and Glen Mervyn in the Shire of Donnybrook-Balingup. 

Tasmania: 

February 2025 – An extremely large cluster of emergency/watch and act fires has been burning across northwestern parts of Tasmania. Sandy Cape, Reece Dam, Tikkawoppa, Savage River, Conical Rocks, Pieman Heads, Corinna and surrounding areas. 

Fires raged on the west coast of Tasmania throughout February - image courtesy of Tasmanian Fire Service

Impact on Industries

Extreme weather significantly affected key sectors across Australia:

Insurance: Increased claims from hail, storms, and flooding highlighted the rising risk of NatCat events.

Energy & Utilities: Power grids struggled with heat-driven demand and storm-related damage, requiring real-time weather insights.

Logistics & Transport: Severe weather caused road closures, shipping delays, and safety risks for workers.

Construction & Mining: Heatwaves and storms led to work stoppages, emphasizing the need for early weather intelligence.

Looking Ahead: Autumn Weather Outlook

With summer behind us, businesses should now prepare for the changing risks of autumn. Early indications from the Bureau of Meteorology suggest continued volatile weather, with an increased likelihood of:

• Residual heatwaves into early autumn.

• Tropical cyclone activity in the northern regions.

• Continued flood risks in already saturated areas.

As we transition to the cooler weather of autumn, businesses must remain proactive in managing weather-related risks.

Is your business prepared for the next season? Get in touch with EWN today to ensure you have the right weather intelligence solutions in place.