Tom Saunders

3 weeks ago | abc.net.au | Tom Saunders |Tyne Logan

A week before Tropical Cyclone Alfred was nearing the east coast of Australia, most forecasts were favouring a path either well offshore or near the central Queensland coast. There was a curious anomaly though: an AI prediction from Google's DeepMind, called Graphcast, was predicting the centre of Alfred would be just 200 kilometres off the coast of Brisbane.

1 month ago | abc.net.au | Tom Saunders |Tyne Logan

Australia's east coast has been pounded by rain, wind and surf for a week, with some of the highest rainfall in decades recorded through southern Queensland, including Brisbane's highest daily rainfall in half a century. Alfred made landfall as ex-Tropical Cyclone at about 8pm on Saturday. It is now pushing inland through southern Queensland, having transformed from a closed low-pressure system with tightly rotating winds into a low-pressure trough.

Jan 10, 2025 | abc.net.au | Tom Saunders

Australia is now in the peak of the severe weather season, and this weekend will offer up an assortment of atmospheric extremes from torrential rain and powerful afternoon thunderstorms to a sprawling heatwave. The heaviest rain this weekend should fall across eastern Queensland and north-east New South Wales, where isolated totals could exceed 100 millimetres.

Jan 7, 2025 | rnz.co.nz | Tom Saunders

By Tom Saunders, ABCThe great rainmaker, La Niña, could be back for the fourth time in five years, increasing the prospect of a soaking start to 2025 across most of Australia. La Niña refers to a cooling of the tropical Pacific Ocean and the subsequent shift in global weather patterns, including a strengthening of moist easterly winds blowing towards Australia, and a subsequent increase in cloud development and rain over the longitudes.

Jan 3, 2025 | abc.net.au | Tom Saunders

2025 is opening with a broad heatwave stretching through the heart of Australia, continuing a pattern of exceptional heat which included the nation's hottest spring on record, and third hottest December on record. Temperatures across south-east states are predicted to soar up to 12 degrees Celsius above the January average this weekend, raising the risk of major fire outbreaks in South Australia and Victoria.