Western Australia's improving weather services

Forecasts

63 locations in Western Australia will get a 7-day forecast. This includes new forecast locations at Coral Bay, Warburton, Jurien Bay, Rottnest Island, Mandurah, Southern Cross, Mt Barker and Denmark. In addition, the metropolitan suburbs of Joondalup, Midland, Scarborough, Swanbourne, Kalamunda, Fremantle, Armadale and Rockingham will all receive their own 7 day forecast.

The 7-day forecasts are presented as a combination of text and graphics.

The Perth Metropolitan forecast will include a day 1 forecast of the probability of any measurable rain and a forecast of the likely rainfall range.

District forecasts get a major upgrade and will contain far more information about rainfall, winds, fire danger and more. The Interior district will be divided into the northern and southern Interior, and there will be a minor boundary change for the South Coastal and Southeast Coastal Districts.

Marine Services

The number of coastal waters forecast zones will increase from 12 to 14, with the smaller zones allowing for a more detailed description of conditions. Information about thunderstorms and fog will be included, and Sea and Swell forecasts will extend out to 4 days. The forecasts will have an improved layout for easier reading.

The Perth local Waters forecast will extend northwards to Two Rocks and southwards to Dawesville, and a new 4 day forecast for the Melville Waters section of the Swan river will be produced.

Marine Wind Warnings will now be issued for today and tomorrow, and a warning label will be added to the forecast for those days. No separate warning will be issued.

Agricultural Services

7-day forecasts will be provided for more rural locations.

Forecasts will contain more detail about wind and rainfall and overnight temperatures for 7 days will assist in frost mitigation.

Technical Information for Web Developers

Forecasts and warnings will be available in a number of formats including XML. See the Weather Data Services webpage for more.

Issue times of Western Australian forecasts

Forecast Name	Issue Times
State Forecast	4:45am & 4:30pm
Coastal Waters Forecasts	4:00am & 4:00pm
Perth & Melville Waters Forecast	4:00am & 4:00pm
District Forecasts	5:00am & 4:25pm
Perth Metropolitan Forecast	4:40am & 4:20pm
Town Forecasts	4:50am & 4:30pm
Forecast Summaries for WA Cities and Towns	4:30am & 4:00pm

Note that, if required, forecasts are updated between the standard issue times.