The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) has experienced a major outage, with its systems going down nationwide in a blackout lasting roughly nine hours. During the disruption, access to weather forecasts, warnings, and radar data through BOM’s usual channels was unavailable or severely limited for users across the country.
For everyday Australians, the most noticeable impact is losing access to the primary source of official weather information. BOM is the national authority for weather forecasts, severe weather warnings, flood alerts, and fire danger ratings. When its website, app, or data feeds go down, third-party weather apps and news services that rely on BOM data may also show outdated or incomplete information. That means people planning travel, outdoor work, or events may be working without current forecasts, and communities in areas prone to severe weather could be temporarily without timely official warnings.
At this stage, the outage appears to be a technical or infrastructure failure rather than damage caused by an external event. There is no indication at this time that severe weather, a geomagnetic storm, or any natural hazard caused the disruption. Authorities typically restore such services in stages, so some features may return before others.
What you can do
Use backup information sources. During any outage of official weather services, check state emergency service updates, local radio, and ABC emergency broadcasts, which continue to relay critical warnings.
Have a battery-powered radio handy. This is a good reminder that digital services can fail. A simple radio keeps you connected to emergency broadcasts during outages of any kind.
Check conditions before traveling. If you rely on BOM radar or forecasts for road trips, flights, or marine activities, verify conditions through multiple sources until services are fully restored, and allow extra time for changing weather.
Incidents like this are a practical prompt to make sure your household has more than one way to receive emergency warnings, including the official emergency apps for your state and a charged phone or backup power bank.
Data for this alert comes from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology and official national weather and emergency reporting channels.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I still get weather warnings while BOM is down?
Yes. State emergency services, ABC local radio, and emergency broadcasters continue to issue warnings, and many third-party apps cache recent BOM data. Use multiple sources until BOM confirms full restoration.
How long until BOM services are fully restored?
The reported blackout lasted about nine hours, and restoration of large systems typically happens in stages, so some features may return before others. Check BOM's official social media channels for status updates.
Is this connected to space weather or a solar storm?
There is no indication of that. This appears to be a technical or infrastructure failure, and no significant geomagnetic storm is associated with this event.
Should I change my travel plans because of this outage?
Not necessarily, but verify weather conditions through backup sources before traveling, especially for road trips, boating, or flights where current radar and forecast data matter.
Keep tracking this:
Source: The Courier Mail
Related Reading
Sky & Solar Conditions at the Time
Moon: Waxing Gibbous (92% illuminated), in Aquarius.
Notable planetary angles: Mercury sextile Jupiter (63°), Sun sextile Mars (63°).
Concurrent space weather: planetary Kp index 1.7; strongest recent solar flare: nothing notable.
This is a factual snapshot, not a claim of cause and effect – researchers are divided on whether lunar, planetary or solar factors influence seismic or weather activity. It’s included so readers can track the pattern for themselves over time.
