Guides and tools

Free calculators, guides and templates for working outdoors in Australian weather, from heat stress and lightning to cyclones and the wet season, plus what to expect in the main mining regions.

Storm and cyclone season: November to April

• Cyclone season for remote sites

  The categories, the watch and warning zones, and a timeline for getting a remote site ready.

• Lightning TARP template

  A printable plan for stop and warning distances by area, the actions at each level and the all-clear.

• Lightning detection options compared

  Counting thunder, handheld detectors, on-site alarms, alerting services and Lumen Sites, and when to combine them.

• Rain, the wet season and haul roads

  When the rain comes in each region, what it does to unsealed roads and pits, and how sites plan around it.

Templates

• Lightning TARP template

  Trigger levels, actions, responsibilities and communication for lightning, ready to print and fill in.

• Heat stress TARP template

  WBGT bands with work-rest, water, shade, acclimatisation and checks on workers at each level.

Calculators

• WBGT heat stress calculator

  Estimate wet bulb globe temperature from air temperature and humidity, against your caution and stop levels, with a chart for common conditions.

• Lightning distance calculator

  Count from flash to thunder to work out how far away the lightning is, and when the 30/30 rule says to stop.

• Wind speed at height calculator

  Turn the 10 m wind forecast into the wind at crane jib or work platform height.

Weather and site work

• Blasting and temperature inversions

  Why a blast fired into an inversion carries further and keeps fumes low, and how to time blasts around it.

• Heat stress forecasts (WBGT)

  Setting caution and stop levels, who is most at risk, and planning the day around the heat.

• Lightning stand-down alerts

  Choosing stop and warning distances, and why the all-clear waits 30 minutes.

• Gusts, cranes and work at height

  Why gusts decide the lift, the limits to check, and the daily wind pattern.

Mining regions

• Pilbara

  Extreme summer heat, cyclones and monsoon rain across the iron ore towns.

• Goldfields and Murchison

  Hot, dry summers, cold nights in winter and rain that can come in any month.

• Bowen Basin

  Summer storms and wet-season rain across Queensland’s coal mining towns.

• Surat Basin

  Humid summer heat, spring and summer storms, and floods across Roma, Miles, Chinchilla and Wandoan.

• Hunter Valley

  Hot summer days, storms and east coast lows in the New South Wales coal region.

• Central West NSW and Cobar

  Summer heat out west, storms, and frosty, foggy winters on the tablelands.

• North West Queensland

  Heat, a short wet season and long dry months around Mount Isa and Cloncurry.

• Northern Territory

  The Top End’s wet and dry seasons, and the desert heat of Central Australia.

• Olympic Dam and Far North SA

  Desert heat, dust, rare heavy rain and cold nights from Roxby Downs to the Upper Spencer Gulf.

• West Coast Tasmania

  Rain on most days of the year, westerly gales and cold winters around Queenstown, Zeehan and Rosebery.

Forecasts by state, and for mines

Western Australia · Queensland · New South Wales · Northern Territory · South Australia · Victoria · Tasmania · Australian Capital Territory

Each state page compares every town’s climate, and each town page has a 7-day forecast, 30 years of monthly averages, heat-stress days and the mines nearby. Mine weather has a forecast for every operating mine.