About our new website
This is a test website. It's the beginning of a journey to build a new website for all Australians.
Learn why we're building this new website and see latest release information on our About our test website page.
Compatible browsers and operating systems
For the best experience and security, use this website with a compatible operating system and browser. This is usually the current public version and prior 2 versions.
Some functions on the site may not work with unsupported browsers and operating systems. For example, the weather map.
Navigation and search
Warnings
To access warnings and alerts, click or tap the warnings icon (yellow triangle) at the top right of your desktop, tablet or mobile screen.
On the homepage, you can also use the yellow bar that says Current warnings. To access warnings for a state or territory, use the list right of the capital cities weather display.
If you've selected a favourite location as your homepage, you'll find the warnings for that place below the location title.
Another way to access warnings is to use the main menu. Select Weather and climate, then Warnings and alerts.
Not all warnings are available on this test website. For all warnings, see the National warnings summary on our current website.
Menus
There are 3 main sections at the top of the page, and a footer menu at the bottom (see Footer below).
The top menu includes:
- Weather and climate
- Government and industry
- Resources.
On desktop, selecting one of these opens a menu for that section. You can select:
- headings to go to the main page for that topic, or
- some pages beneath the headings. Not all pages are listed – to see all pages in that section, use the heading link to go to the main page.
Most of the main pages have a menu on the right side. Use this to explore pages about the topic. On mobile, access these pages through links on the main page.
Breadcrumbs
Breadcrumbs help you know where you are on the website. It's a small strip of text, showing the title of the page you're on, and the pages it sits under.
This handy navigation tool is found at the top of any page under the main banner. Use the breadcrumb links to go to the pages and find your way to the homepage.
For a shortcut to the homepage, use the home icon in the breadcrumbs. You can also click or tap at the top left of your screen:
- Bureau of Meteorology on desktop or tablet
- The Bureau on mobile.
Search
Use the magnifying glass icon at the top right of your screen.
Location search
When you type a location, the site lists suggested results. Selecting a location from the results takes you to the page that has weather details for that location.
Topic search
When you type a topic, not a location, select All results.
You can filter results by:
- category, such as news and media
- format, for example, video.
If you can't find what you're looking for, try different or more general search terms. We're always working to improve the search results and welcome your feedback on this.
Footer – corporate, legal and contact information
In the footer at the bottom of every page, you'll find:
- About the Bureau – our corporate information, including careers, annual reports and more
- Contact – our contact and feedback form, phone numbers and postal details
- Site notices – privacy, accessibility, copyright and the disclaimer
- Glossary – for weather words
- News and media, and events
- Selling to the Bureau – our procurement and tenders information.
You can access this information wherever you are on the website.
Sitemap
For a complete picture of all content on this website, view the sitemap. It's available from the footer on every page.
Radar and map functions
Using the new weather map
You can see the interactive map on:
- the Rain radar and weather map page
- location pages for cities, towns, states, territories, districts and other places.
You can add the weather map to your homepage when you have selected a favourite town or place. See Favourite locations.
The map is mobile friendly and designed to be easier for all Australians to use. For example:
- keyboard controls for pan and zoom
- improved colour contrast to make labels easier to read.
The weather display is smooth, not pixelated by grids.
Depending on the page, you can use selections at the top of the map to display different weather information. For example, rain, wind or temperature.
Customising the map
Select More weather to choose what you want to display on the map. This includes:
- types of weather – rain, wind and more
- geographical features, such as road and rail, or towns and cities.
Rain radar
The rain radar is part of the weather map. You'll automatically see the radar when Rain is selected at the top of the map.
You can also use More weather to access map settings and select the Past tab. Under rain and storms, select Rain radar.
If you select a favourite town or place, you can choose for the rain radar to display on your homepage:
- all the time, or
- only when rain is forecast for that location.
See Favourite locations.
Place names on the map
Location names on the rain radar and weather map may be different to our current maps. This helps make the map easier to read and access. Learn more on our Rain radar and weather radars page.
Maps for specific types of weather
Maps in Specialised forecasts and observations display data relevant to the type of weather. For example, heatwave or weather for coasts and oceans.
These maps automatically show all of Australia, as they are not linked to a specific location.
Use my current location
When you select Use my current location, the website estimates your location. It uses data from several sources, including:
- global positioning system (GPS)
- nearby wi-fi networks
- your internet protocol (IP) address.
Your estimated location may be wrong for many reasons. Factors that can affect the calculation include:
- your device settings, opt-in selections and browser permissions
- satellite communications and GPS services
- network connectivity
- corporate network settings
- the amount of location data provided by your device.
Favourite locations
Cookies and site data settings
To save your favourite locations, we use cookies. If your favourite locations aren’t being saved, you may need to change your browser’s site data or cookie settings.
This is typically found in the browser's privacy or cookies and site permissions. If using a work device this setting might be managed by your organisation.
For Chrome:
- Go to Settings > Privacy and security > Site settings > Additional content settings > On-device site data.
- Under Default behaviour choose Allow sites to save data on your device.
For Edge:
- Go to Settings > Privacy, search and services.
- Under Delete browsing data select Choose what to clear every time you close the browser.
- Select Cookies and other site data.
- Next to Don’t clear, select Add, then add beta.bom.gov.au.
Favourites and your homepage
You can add unlimited favourite locations to your homepage.
The first location that you favourite appears on your homepage as the default, every time you visit. If rain is forecast at this location, the rain radar map also appears on your homepage. The map is centred on your favourite location.
To change your homepage, see Manage favourite locations on this page.
When you add other favourite locations, they are listed on:
- your homepage below the 7-day forecast
- the Rain radar and weather maps page.
Select a location from your favourite locations list to access detailed weather information for that place.
Add favourite locations
From the homepage
If you don't have any favourites yet:
- use the favourites (star) icon at the top right of your screen, or
- click or tap Select your favourite locations to show on this page, below the capital cities weather information.
If you already have a favourite, add more by going to the location page.
From a location page
Use the star icon near the location name to add or remove it as a favourite. The star is filled in when the location is a favourite, and an outline when it's not.
Manage favourite locations
On the Manage favourite locations page, you can:
- remove favourite locations – select Remove next to the location name
- change the location and map shown on your homepage.
To find the Manage favourite locations page:
- On any page, select the star icon at the top right of your screen. Follow the Manage favourite locations link below the list of locations.
- On your homepage, select the Manage favourite locations link below your list of favourite locations.
Change location shown on homepage
Under Homepage options, use the dropdown menu to select the favourite location you want to see on your homepage. You can also select to see weather for capital cities.
Change rain radar map on homepage
By default, the rain radar map only appears on your homepage when rain is forecast for the selected favourite location.
You can change this so the rain radar always appears. Under Homepage options, select Always show rain radar.
Remove favourite locations
There are 2 ways to remove favourites:
- On the location page, click or tap the star icon next to the location name to remove it from your favourites. The star is filled in when the location is a favourite, and an outline when it's not.
- In Manage favourite locations, select Remove next to the location name.
You can also remove all customised settings on the site by clearing your cookies in your browser.
Forecasts and observations
For a specific location
Search for a location to find forecasts and observations for that place. You can also search for states, territories, districts and regions.
On the location page, use tabs below the location name to see weather for today, 7 days ahead or the past 72 hours.
Today
At the top of the location page is a summary of:
- current and feels like temperature
- forecast maximum and minimum temperatures
- chance of any rain.
Select Show more about today to see current weather, the district forecast, and sun and UV times.
Below the summary, you'll find the hourly forecast table for that location.
Use the buttons above the table to select temperature and rain, wind and tides, humidity or show all. Scroll using the arrows at the side of the table to see more information.
7 day forecast
The 7 days tab at the top of the location page gives you access to forecasts for the week ahead. It shows:
- today's detailed forecast
- a snapshot of each day for the week.
To see more details for the days ahead:
- use Expand all at the top right of the content, or
- tap or click the day you want to see. This opens the accordion with details. Tap or click again to close it.
Past weather
Selecting the past tab on the location page gives you hourly weather data for the past 72 hours at this place.
Use the buttons above the table to select the type of weather you want to see in the table. Scroll left or right using the arrows at the side of the table to see more data.
Below the table is a summary of the day so far at that location. It shows:
- highest and lowest recorded temperature
- rain since midnight
- highest wind gust.
At the top of the page, you can change the weather station that is providing the weather data. Find more details about the weather station, and other nearby stations at the bottom of the page.
For state, territory, district or region
Access state, territory, district or region weather information from:
- the Forecasts and observations page, under the Places tab
- locations pages. Click or tap the link above the location name to go to the district or region page. Do the same on the district or region page to access the state or territory page.
The state, territory, district and region pages have tabs for:
- forecasts
- past weather
- places.
Use Places to access locations within that state, territory, district or region.
Printing
To print or save a page:
- right click in most browsers, or
- access print options through your browser settings. This is usually in the top right corner of the page.
When you print a page, graphs and tables may not display in full. Adjusting the scale of the page from 100% to 80% may help.
To adjust the scale, select print from your browser settings. Change the scale using the tools. Depending on your browser, scale may be adjusted in advanced settings.
Activate Javascript
If you see an alert telling you to activate Javascript, you can do this in your browser settings.
Javascript is a programming language that we use to provide interactive maps and other complex information on this website. If Javascript is turned off in your browser, you will not see these features.
The steps to activate Javascript depend on the browser you are using – for example, Chrome, Edge, Firefox.