Australian High

Australian High
The high featuring an anticlockwise rotation around an oval area of clear skies.
Area of occurrence
SeasonAll-year round
Effect
  • Drought in the west and south (summer)
  • Drier conditions, and at times drought, in the centre, north and east (winter)

The Australian High, also known as the Australian subtropical ridge,[1] is a large, semi-permanent high pressure area or subtropical anticyclone that seasonally vacillates between the Great Australian Bight in the south to the Northern Territory in the north.[2] It is generally located between 25 and 40 degrees of south latitude, depending on the season.[3][4]

In summer, it typically sits over southern Australia as an Australian Bight High,[5] where it generally provides dry weather in the proximate region. In winter it normally moves north, therefore permitting cold fronts and low pressure systems to relocate up from the Great Australian Bight and bring rainfall to most parts of southern Australia.[6] The high is part of the subtropical ridge system and it is the reason why a large part of Australia is arid to semi-arid.[7]

  1. ^ An assessment of relationships between the Australian subtropical ridge, rainfall variability and high-latitude circulation patterns by Dr Allyson A.J. Williams and Dr Roger C. Stone. Queensland Climate Change Centre of Excellence, Nambour, Queensland.
  2. ^ An Australian "Anti-storm" EOS Project Science Office at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. 5 June 2012.
  3. ^ Summary of Weather Terms Bushwalking Leadership. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  4. ^ The Sub-tropical Ridge Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved May 31, 2023
  5. ^ Australian Bight High slows down GSC front runners and could reshuffle rankings by Marco Nannini from Global Solo Challenge. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
  6. ^ Sub-tropical Ridge Example. Bureau of Meteorology. 2 April, 2008. Retrieved 31 May, 2023.
  7. ^ Subtropical ridge leaves us high and dry this June Bureau of Meteorology. July 2017. Retrieved 31 May, 2023.