Western Sydney · Hawkesbury · Lower Blue Mountains

Penrith Storm Chasing

Live storm feeds for Penrith and the Hawkesbury, in the order you check them before a chase. Every button opens the live source.

Check BOM warnings ↗ Open live radar ↗

33.605° S150.639° EPenrith · Richmond · Windsor

PENRITHRICHMONDWE

Penrith right now

Warnings and the next 48 hours

Refreshed every hour from BOM warnings and the Penrith forecast.

Checking warnings
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Temperature—
Chance of rain—
Wind—
Peak gust, 48 hrs—

Rain chance and gusts

Chance of rain (%)Wind gust (km/h)

Live map

Windy over Penrith

Pick a layer. The map is live from Windy; tap any point for its forecast.

NSW Rural Fire Service

Fire Danger Rating

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Fire danger rating—
Day—
As at—

Ratings change daily. Check today's rating and Total Fire Bans on the RFS website ↗

Penrith City Council

Penrith Emergency Dashboard

Emergency news, weather and fire warnings, road status, river heights, traffic cameras, power outages and flood evacuation routes for the Penrith area.

Emergency newsOpen dashboard ↗ Weather warningsOpen dashboard ↗ Fire warningsOpen dashboard ↗ Road statusOpen dashboard ↗

If the dashboard doesn't appear above, open the Penrith Emergency Dashboard ↗.

Storm check

Work through it in order

Warnings first, then what the radar shows, then whether there is fuel and wind to keep cells going, then whether it is safe to get there.

  1. 01 · Warnings

    Is anything already issued?

    Severe thunderstorm warnings name the cells, hazards and where they are heading.

  2. 02 · Radar

    Where are the cores?

    Find rain and storm cores and watch which way they track.

  3. 03 · Thunderstorms

    What is forecast to fire?

    Thunderstorm forecast layer and the official BOM chance of storms by area.

  4. 04 · Fuel

    Is there energy to feed them?

    Surface heating and CAPE show where storm fuel is building over the next 48 hours.

  5. 05 · Wind

    Where will they move, and how hard will they hit?

    Wind steers the cells; gusts show the damaging-wind risk.

  6. 06 · Lightning

    Are cells active now?

    Real-time strikes confirm which cells are electrically active.

  7. 07 · Getting there

    Can you get there and back safely?

    Check road closures and river levels before committing to a route.

Crew only

Alerts

These need the crew's own sign-in. Members of the public will see a sign-in page.

Alerts ↗Windy weather alerts Sensors alerts ↗SafetyCulture sensors Sensor alerts history ↗SafetyCulture past alerts

Reading the setup

Fuel, instability and a trigger

Compare what Windy shows over Penrith with these bands. Storms need fuel (high CAPE), an unstable column (negative lifted index) and a trigger such as a front, trough or sea-breeze.

CAPE J/kg · higher is more fuel
Weak
Moderate
Strong
Extreme
03001,0002,500+
Little fuelStorms with a triggerHail possibleSevere if they fire
Lifted index °C · lower is more unstable
Stable
Marginal
Unstable
Severe
above 00 to −2−2 to −6below −6
Storms unlikelyIsolated, weakStorms expectedSevere weather

Before you roll

  1. Check for an active severe thunderstorm warning and which way cells are moving.
  2. Pick a vantage point with a clear view west and at least two exits.
  3. Stay out of the hail core and never drive into floodwater.
  4. Check Live Traffic for closures on the M4, Great Western Hwy and Castlereagh Rd.
  5. Tell someone your route and turnaround time.

Storm log

Recent severe reports

Severe storm reports around Penrith from BOM warnings.

DateTimeLocationReportHailGust
21 Mar 20264:00 pmPenrithSevere thunderstorm, large hail4 cm—
21 Mar 20263:42 pmWestern Sydney AirportSevere thunderstorm, damaging wind—91 km/h