Weather News

Rain in east already above winter average

Tristan Meyers, Thursday July 7, 2016 - 15:31 AEST

At only about a third of the way through winter, many places in QLD, NSW and VIC have already exceed their entire seasonal rainfall average.

It's been a very wet start to winter. Several large-scale weather events occurred over June, including a large East Coast Low and a â??pseudoâ?? East Coast Low about two weeks afterwards. Additionally, frequent fronts and troughs have been packed with extra moisture due to warmer-than-average sea surface temperatures surrounding large parts of the continent. This all contributed to the second wettest June on average for the nation as a whole.

Kowanyama, Longreach and Isisford are among the places have already reached 3-fold of their winter average, and in just 37 days. For Isisford, the running total of 165mm already makes it their wettest winter since 1933. Elsewhere in QLD, Mount Isa, Rockhampton, Charleville, and Collinsville represent just some of the many locations that have exceeded the winter average.

Inland parts of NSW, such as Yanco, Brewarrina, Cobar and Goulburn have also had their winter's worth of rain. It's a bit patchier in VIC and SA, but Bairnsdale and Mallacoota have had well in excess of the rainfall generally expected during winter, while Coober Pedy and Nullarbor have edged the 100% mark during June. So far this winter in Nullarbor, it has rained 28 days out of a possible 37.

Some of the capitals tell a similar story. In Sydney, the CBD, Mascot, Parramatta, Penrith, Canterbury and Richmond have all racked in excess of the winter average. In Brisbane, the city has accumulated a staggering 220% of the winter average. A touch further west, Amberley has copped 199mm of the 113mm norm and Archerfield has already picked up 269mm compared to a 114mm average. Additionally, after their wettest June on record, Canberra has now exceed their winter average by over 40mm.

Hobart is not too far off - at nearly 90% of the seasonal rain so far, but elsewhere around the state, Mount Wellington has tallied 327mm of a 237mm average and Bicheno has been drenched with 142% of the seasonal average.

Indeed, the wet conditions are not over as yet. The climatological drivers that have already given southeastern Australia a wet start to winter are, if anything, intensifying. A negative Indian Ocean Dipole event is currently in progress, which (on average) drives more rain to southern and eastern parts of the nation.

In the short term, a large frontal system will bring blustery conditions to much of the south and east of the nation in the next week, with heavy showers possible on the coasts and ranges of VIC and NSW.

- Weatherzone

© Weatherzone 2016

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