Building your 'weather' skills

Local wind systems

You may find small-scale circulations, affecting local areas, superimposed on general atmospheric circulations that dominate weather over large regions.

For example, on hot afternoons Melbourne's bayside suburbs often experience pleasant sea-breezes that do not penetrate to suburbs further inland. Bayside maximum temperatures are often lower than the official maximum recorded in the centre of the city.

Local thunderstorms in Sydney may produce brief intense rain in some suburbs, while nearby suburbs remain dry.

In winter, north winds descending from the high Snowy Mountains to the eastern Victorian coast are warmed as the air subsides on the leeward side of the mountain.

People living near hills may be familiar with local phenomena like Adelaide's gully winds.

The ranges north and east of Melbourne help contain the ''Melbourne Eddy' circulation that under certain conditions can carry pollutants in a loop from Melbourne's industrial western suburbs over the city and to residential areas to the east and south-east, before circling back over Port Phillip Bay.