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Cyclone season wrap-up

Guy Dixon, Saturday April 30, 2016 - 13:14 AEST

Today marks the final day of Australia's tropical cyclone season, and it has been an absolute fizzer.

Coupled with one of the strongest El Nino events on record, Australia has seen it's quietest cyclone season on record, with only three systems within the Australian region - Stan, Tatiana and Uriah.

Severe Tropical Cyclone Winston stands out as a significant system of the season, but actually falls under the jurisdiction of Fiji, despite later impacting the Tropical coast of QLD as a tropical low.

On average, we usually observe 11 cyclones within the Australian region but the impacts of a strong El Nino event typically reduces the number of systems that develop and can hamper the chances of coastal crossings, particularly in QLD by up to 50%.

Stan was the only system to make landfall, keeping the 46 year tradition alive with at least one coastal crossing per season.

A delayed onset of the monsoon season and development of initial systems is also often observed, with El Nino seasons usually kicking off between 2-6 weeks later than a La Nina season.

Instead, the more favourable conditions were positioned further east over the Central and South Pacific Ocean.

- Weatherzone

© Weatherzone 2016

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A very wet weekend for southeast Qld, northeast NSW

11:48 AEST A prolonged rainfall event is set to bring large totals to parts of NSW and Qld from Saturday, with possible heavy falls and flooding. A low-pressure system in the Coral Sea, a deepening coastal trough and persistent easterlies will bring moisture-laden air into southeast Qld and northeast NSW will bring days of rainfall to the region. While there is not a drop of rain on the radar over southeast Qld and Northeast NSW on Friday morning, the mass of cloud associated with a low in the Coral Sea will enhance rainfall over the weekend.