Seasonal Differences

Weather-wise, the Lake Ballard visitor experience is essentially fairly uniform year round, given that the Western Australian Goldfields are semi-arid in nature.

Detailed below you can see the average maximum and minimum temperatures, and average rainfall, for each of the four seasons.

It should be noted that in summer there can be a dozen days or more with maximum temperatures in excess of 40 degrees Celsius. Occasionally there can be severe summer thunderstorms and, less frequently, prolonged rain events resulting from tropical cyclones moving inland from the north-west. The last time Lake Ballard was in full flood was 1995 in the wake of Cyclone Bobby.
On average, these big flood events have been occurring at around 20-year intervals. The next such event will create huge media and visitor interest as it will be the first time the INSIDE AUSTRALIA statues will be standing in a significant amount of water, making the event a photographer’s delight.

In winter, it can be a touch chilly at Lake Ballard, especially if you’re camping overnight. And it can occasionally be quite wet, depending how far the winter storms crossing the south-west coast are reaching into the interior.

For comfort, it is generally accepted that the seasons most ideally suited to a visit are autumn and spring.

However, the pluses relating to a Lake Ballard visit in summer include a crisp white salt crust (if there hasn’t been rain) and the biggest blue skies imaginable. Photographically, therefore, summer is the time that the lake surface is at its most mesmerising (with shimmering mirages, etc). It’s the ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ look.

Many visitors report that being at Lake Ballard at either sunrise or sunset is sublime. And for those actually camping, the night skies can be quite sensational. Lake Ballard is becoming a popular viewing point for the annual Perseid meteor shower which can usually be seen in the Southern Hemisphere between 10 – 15 August.

*March is very much a summer month in Western Australia