‘Unusual’ weather system to impact half of Australia in spring
The Bureau of Meteorology’s newly released spring forecast shows an east-west weather split coming for Australia, with one state heading for a drenching.
Forecasters say an El Niño system will drive temperatures above average across Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, NSW, the ACT and Queensland.
Australia’s west is set for a spring drenching, while the rest of the country is expected to be unusually dry. Bureau of Meteorology
From September to November, there is a more than 60 per cent chance of unusually high maximum temperatures across the southern two-thirds of Australia, with an 80 per cent chances over most of south-western and south-eastern parts of the country.
Spring is also a peak time for severe thunderstorms, especially along Australia’s east coast, with the storm season starting in October.
But El Niño’s impact on rainfall totals in Australia is less clear.
While the climate pattern is typically associated with reduced rainfall in some parts, its strength does not always match its impacts.
Forecasters also say the influence of El Niño on rainfall weakens during summer.
The bureau outlook points to lower rainfalls ahead for south-eastern and eastern states, but in the west it is a different story, with uncommon conditions coming into play.
There is a 50 per cent to 80 per cent chance of “unusually high rainfall” across much of northern and central parts of Western Australia extending into parts of the western Northern Territory.
The exception is the south-western corner of WA, where below-average rainfall is likely.
This does not mean it will be dry all the time in south-western areas, but there’s likely to be less rain than usual.
A warm summer and less rain than normal could be on the way for millions of Aussies. Sydney Morning Herald
Total spring rainfall has a high chance of reaching at least 100mm to 200 mm across most of the south-western corner.
Western parts of the Northern Territory are also heading for above-average rainfall, with spring falls likely to range from 50mm to 200mm.
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