Climate of Melbourne

[1][2] Melbourne is well known for its changeable weather conditions, mainly due to it being located on the boundary of hot inland areas and the cool southern ocean.

These cold fronts can be responsible for varied forms of severe weather from gales to thunderstorms and hail, large temperature drops and heavy rain.

Relatively narrow streams of heavy showers can often affect the same places (usually the eastern suburbs) for an extended period, while the rest of Melbourne and surrounds stays dry.

[4] Melbourne is also prone to isolated convective showers forming when a cold pool crosses the state, especially if there is considerable daytime heating.

Despite its relative dryness, Melbourne has 139 days of rain per year on the 0.2mm threshold, meaning that its precipitation commonly falls as drizzles or as light showers (which frequently occur in the winter months), rather than heavy downpours (such as those generally experienced in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth).

[10] Melbourne is also prone to isolated convective showers forming when a cold pool crosses the state, especially if there is considerable daytime heating.

Every summer, intense heat builds starting in the Pilbara district of Western Australia around October/November and spreading widely over the tropical and subtropical inland parts of the continent by January.

In the summer months, the southern part of the continent straddles the westerly wind belt to the south and the subtropical high-pressure ridge to the north.

On these occasions, the normally temperate parts of southern Victoria, including Melbourne, can experience the full fury of the desert climate albeit only briefly as the cold front responsible usually passes through relatively quickly afterwards allowing cool south-westerly winds off the Southern Ocean to replace the hot desert air.