Australia

A rare meteorological event has begun over Queensland's Gulf of Carpentaria with the first 'Morning Glory' clouds of the season being spotted.

Every spring, people travel from around the world to see the spectacular cloud formation.

Morning Glory clouds have been seen on Sweers and Mornington islands in the Gulf this week.

It's still winter, which isn't the best season to have an election in.  Rain or cold weather = lower voter turn out. 

But the weather on Saturday couldn't have been better for Australians getting out to vote. 

Weather for most voters was fantastic from coast to coast.

Sydney bathed in its warmest day this winter as the temperature nudged the mid 20s, more typical of spring, according to weatherzone.com.au.

By lunchtime yesterday it had warmed above 22 degrees in all suburbs and had reached 24 in the city and 25 at Mascot and Richmond, five above the August average.

Parts of Australia have enjoyed unusually warm weather across the weekend thanks to a large high that fed down warm northerly winds along the eastern coastline.

Brisbane is seeing highs well into the mid 20s while Sydney climbed to 21 degrees on Saturday with clear skies.

The Australian  Agriculture Minister says the lack of rain is costing the state's grain sector $250 million a week.

Western Australia has experienced one of its driest winters on record and growers are expected to produce a below average harvest.

Terry Redman has told State Parliament that despite the recent rainfall, many farmers in the Wheatbelt are doing it tough.

Widespread rain is hitting Queensland, Melbourne has it's second coldest day this year and one of the most intense thunderstorms in a decade hit Wagga Wagga - and the deep low producing this weather in Australia is heading directly our way.

Yesterday was the breaking point for Darwin as the maximum exceeded 34 degrees for the fourth day in a row, breaking the previous July record of three days.

The heat has been building over the past week in persistent easterly winds and sunny skies.

Queensland is normally known as "the Sunshine State" yet yesterday saw a very different state of affairs, with thick cloud blanketing almost the whole state.

 
Melbourne has been stuck in a fridge for five days, with the maximum temperature set at under 13 degrees, leading to the longest cold snap in 14 years.

Since last Saturday it has stayed colder than 13 degrees, making it the longest such cold spell since July 1995, when there were seven consecutive days.

The Perth metropolitan area has recorded its coldest night of the year.Some residents have woken to ice on their windscreens this morning.