The public have access to 7-day weather forecasts and seasonal outlooks, but there is a gap in predictions for the intervening "intraseasonal period". The Australian Bureau of Meteorology is developing the science and associated products that could fill this gap and form an intraseasonal forecast service for Australia. Demand for this service has come primarily from the agricultural sector where intraseasonal variations in climate can have significant impacts.

Climate change predictions for Australia are for a more variable climate. Climate exposed sectors, including agriculture, will need to be flexible in their practices if they are to adapt to these changes. Intraseasonal climate outlooks have a significant role to play in allowing short-term adaption of practices which can bring both environmental and economic benefits, e.g., through appropriate irrigation and power supply scheduling, timing of hazard reduction burning and scheduling of planting, harvesting and fertilizer applications.

We have investigated the capability of POAMA, the Bureau of Meteorology's seasonal prediction model, to predict extreme heat occurring 2-4 weeks into the future. Using a large set of retrospective forecasts spanning 30-years, we will show that POAMA has promising skill, particularly over the agriculturally significant Murray-Darling Basin in the spring months. We also review the experimental guidance provided by POAMA for recent cases of extreme heatwave events, including looking at the role of various climate drivers in influencing the odds of extreme heat occurring. Lastly, we will describe the experimental forecast products now available on the POAMA website (http://poama.bom.gov.au).