A mixed week weather-wise for New Zealand, we’ve seen wind and showers on parts of both islands, and plenty of sunshine and spring warmth too!

Across the Tasman, however, it’s been a different story, with severe thunderstorms over parts of Victoria last weekend, particularly over the ranges.
Falls Creek managed to pick up 44mm to 9am, 4.8mm of that falling in just 10 minutes.
This goes down in the books as the heaviest October rain since 2010 and the healthiest total since April.

It’s #dumping #snow tonight at #FallsCreek. Fresh turns tomorrow. What a season! @Melbourne @MissSnowItAll @Australia pic.twitter.com/a8i3GMXRkF

— Falls Creek Official (@fallsaustralia) September 24, 2015

Meanwhile, with cyclone season approaching, predictions are that we’ll see fewer than normal this year – according to the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM).
Five cyclones typically occur during the season, but the bureau expects that number to fall.
Despite this, the BoM predicted one of the two cyclones likely to reach the WA mainland would be a category three storm – a severe tropical cyclone.

At the other end of the country, Tasmania is gearing up for bushfire season – with several total fire bans across large areas of the state ahead of more hot and windy weather for the next few weeks.
Record temperatures were predicted for the state’s south, with Hobart set to hit 30 degrees Celsius.

Total fire ban for Tasmania: TASMANIA Fire Service has declared a total fire ban for for the state’s south, Ea… http://t.co/9w4fk6dCJ3

— RSS From Examiner (@theexaminerrss) October 14, 2015

The rest of the ccountry, all Australian states and territories, have towns or cities exceeding their hottest October on record, some by five degrees.

At the start of October southeastern Australia basked under its hottest spell this early in the season on record, with temperatures soaring into the 30’s, even along the coast.
Since this searing heat temperatures have barely backed off, with heat lingering across the country due to a lack of strong cold fronts.
Watch this space – it could be another record breaker!

Australia on track for hottest October on record as world has hottest 7 months. On our way to hottest year: http://t.co/DF5YSFCd4y #climate

— 50 degrees? (@TanyiaMaxted) October 15, 2015

Back on home soil, or snow, a bumper and extended snow season is now over in the South Island, both Mount Hutt and Cadrona closing this week.
Some late snowfall meant that Mount Hutt stayed open for a week longer than planned – and it turned out to be a profitable extra week!
Mount Hutt area manager James Mckenzie said they had eight to nine hundred skiers every day this week.

Loved the end of season celebrations at The Remarkables! #nz #theremarkables #ski #snowboard #party #skiexpress pic.twitter.com/lLX0tmFwjy

— Ski Express (@SkiExpress) September 30, 2015

Further north, Rotorua rural firefighters are concerned the predicted El Nino weather pattern will bring with it the possibility of a busy fire season.
This year’s El Nino weather pattern is shaping up to be one of the strongest on record, bringing with it a higher risk of drought in east coast areas and the possibility of more frequent and stronger winds and the risk of fire.

And finally, check out what the rest of your weekend has in store with Philip Duncan’s latest video, here, as well as voting in this week’s frosty poll!

– Drew Chappell, WeatherWatch.co.nz

– Photo: Weatherzone.com.au