Red skies, rainbows and a ravaging storm, WA's weather in May, captured by you

May in Western Australia offered a departure from the expected late autumn chill, with the month characterized by extended periods of sunshine and unseasonably warm spells. Instead of the usual grey, rain-soaked days, Perth residents enjoyed several warm periods, with the warmest day on May 12 reaching 28.3C, significantly above the average. This pleasant weather persisted until just a few days before winter's official start.

While the metropolitan areas basked in sunshine, the agricultural regions faced a more challenging scenario. Grain growers and livestock producers rely on May rainfall to prepare for winter, but cold fronts during the month weakened or slid south, delivering only patchy and insufficient precipitation. This lack of rain created difficulties for those in the farming communities.

Despite the dry conditions in some areas, the month did bring classic autumn mornings with cool, misty conditions across the southern half of the state. Overnight temperatures frequently dipped into the low single digits, with some locations like Newdegate and Collie even experiencing sub-zero temperatures towards the end of May.

Visually, the month offered spectacular displays, particularly the sunsets. Many residents witnessed stunning red skies, a phenomenon explained by senior meteorologist Jessica Lingard. According to Lingard, smoke haze from prescribed burns scatters shorter wavelengths of light, such as blue and green, allowing the longer wavelengths of red, yellow, pink, and orange to dominate, creating beautiful photographic opportunities.

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When we have a lot of fire burning, you get all of that ash and smoke in the atmosphere that scatters all the blues and greens, so you get these beautiful reds, yellows, pinks and oranges, leading to beautiful sunset pictures.