The Bureau of Meteorology’s Australian Weather Calendar is celebrating its 40th edition this year, showcasing 13 stunning images including a spectacular Tasmanian sunset.
The winning image for the calendar month of July was taken by photographer Nick Fitzgerald in late December just after the summer solstice from Mount Massif in the Cradle Mountain/Lake St Clair National Park.
“Just before the sun set over the horizon it dropped below the level of the cloud and suddenly illuminated the landscape and lit up the base of the clouds,” Fitzgerald says.
“I took some photos of the sun as it was setting over the West Coast Range on the western horizon and then a few minutes after the sun had set, I captured that image. So it’s just after sunset, but the sun below the horizon is still illuminating that cloud.”
The BOM say the colour of sunsets can come down to ‘clouds of all sorts’ if they are not too close to the horizon and other particles in the air like dust and smoke.
The photo was one of 13 selected from more than 500 entries from professional and amateur photographers.
“The calendar is a fantastic opportunity to further explain the science behind weather events and other phenomena, all the while admiring spectacular and uniquely Australian imagery,” Senior Meteorologist Andrea Peace said.
“Every page provides an insight and explains the diversity of both the striking visuals and the severe weather conditions in Australia.”
Other images include ice crystals at Nursery Creek in the Namadgi National Park, a stunning sunset from the Busselton Jetty in Western Australia, the Aurora australis as seen from Mawson Station in Antarctica and a double rainbow in Queensland.
The 2024 Australian Weather Calendar can be ordered on the BOM website.
