Weather News

Stormy summer ends with a splash in NSW

Rob Sharpe, Friday February 27, 2015 - 12:28 AEDT

Summer was back to front and round the wrong way for much of New South Wales.

Typically, summer in NSW begins quite dry, with occasional short hot spells. By the time we reach February we see thunderstorms becoming more active inland as onshore winds bring plenty of showery days along the coast.

This year its been a little bit back to front. With the exception of the Northern Rivers and Mid North Coast, the majority of NSW saw well above average rain during December and January, with below average falls in February. This was particularly the case along the Great Dividing Range, which saw its wettest conditions in December, before backing off in January and even further in February, the opposite of a typical summer.

The reason for the lopsided summer was that frontal activity was much weaker than usual during the start of summer. The lack of strong fronts meant that the dry and hot air from central Australia barely ever made it over the Great Dividing Ranges. Instead we saw low pressure troughs consistently sitting over NSW, inviting daily coastal seabreezes to keep moisture levels high.

This set-up with minimal fronts led to an early build up of moisture in December, giving rise to the plethora of thunderstorm days. It then held strong during most of the summer months, bringing about a very humid summer compared to normal for the east. Nights have been particularly humid, with almost the whole state seeing above average minima.

As we move into the rainy month of March we are likely to see fairly normal conditions. The warm waters in the tropics and along the eastern seaboard should give rise to some good areas of above average rain, most likely in the north of the state. Let's wait and see if March lives up to its reputation of being warm, wet and humid.

- Weatherzone

© Weatherzone 2015

Enter a postcode or town name for local weather, or text to search the site. » advanced search

Weather News

» all stories

A digger's letter from snowbound Gallipoli

08:00 AEST In weather terms, the Anzacs at Gallipoli copped it all – from parched, scorching summers to freezing winters as weather systems with origins in the Russian Arctic surged southwards over Turkey.