What are the seasons like in Australia?

Answer 1

Australia experiences the usual four seasons - summer, autumn, winter and spring. Summers may have hot and humid days which are characterised by sudden, violent thunderstorms with strong winds, heavy rain and spectacular lightning displays, or they are hot and dry, leading to severe bushfires seasons.

Autumn sees a distinct drying of the air and a crispness to the days.

Winters are usually quite cold at night, but reasonably pleasant during the day. Sydney does not receive snow, but just to the west, in the Blue Mountains, cold snaps can cause light snowfalls occasionally.

Although different species of native trees flower at different times through all the seasons, Spring sees many native and non-native plants flowering in glorious profusion.

Answer 2

In general, the contrast between seasons is not as marked as in the northern hemisphere. The tropical regions in northern Australia do not have the four seasons, but a wet and dry 'season'. The temperate regions that do have four seasons have spring in September to November, summer from December to February, autumn from March to May, and winter is from June to August. This is six months different to the seasons of the northern hemisphere.

For most of the southern part of the continent, the weather in autumn or spring are the most pleasant times weather-wise as milder conditions prevail. The summer months can be extremely hot and dry in the center and south of the continent, except Tasmania. In the north, the summer months are monsoonal and the weather is humid, with torrential rains in parts.

Winter is pleasant in the central and northern parts with clear sunny days but very cold nights. The winters are not overly cold anywhere in the country except in the Alps and parts of Tasmania which receive snowfall.

In the "Top End" of Australia, only two distinct seasons are recognised: the Wet and the Dry. The Wet season begins around October and continues through to April, and long-distance travel at that time is not recommended as roads can quickly become flooded. It is very hot and humid through this time. The Dry season is when tourists visit, as the days are balmy and the nights quite pleasant.