Weather News

Spring wrap-up

Ben Domensino, Thursday December 1, 2016 - 10:03 AEDT

Spring has drawn to a close across Australia and as usual, it was a mixed bag around the country.

Southern capital cities were relatively cool and wet, while warm and dry conditions dominated in the east. This contrast was driven by a couple of broad-scale climate patterns called SAM and the IOD.

A predominantly negative Southern Annular Mode (SAM) caused westerly winds to be more prevalent than usual across parts of southern and eastern Australia during October and November. Meanwhile, a negative Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) helped enhance the amount of moisture and cloud being produced across parts of western and southern Australia, particularly early in the season.

The combination of a negative SAM and IOD caused cloud, rain and cooler temperatures to thrive over southern and western Australia, while drier and warmer air was carried towards the eastern seaboard by westerly winds.

It was the coldest spring in 24 years for Adelaide, 21 years for Melbourne, 13 years for Canberra and 11 years for Perth. It was also the wettest spring in 15 years for Adelaide, seven years for Hobart, six years for Canberra and five years for Melbourne.

In the east, Brisbane had its driest spring in 13 years and the warmest in eight years. Sydney experienced its driest spring in four years and the warmest in seven.

While the IOD is no longer influencing weather patterns in Australia, the negative SAM will continue to sway conditions during the beginning of summer. This means that eastern states will opening the season with more hot weather.

Heatwave conditions have been forecast for much of Queensland and northern New South Wales during the first four-to-five days of summer.

The most oppressive conditions will be in southern inland Queensland, where some centres are expected to reach 42-44 degrees from Friday to Monday. Western suburbs of Brisbane and Sydney are both forecast to reach the high thirties on Friday.

- Weatherzone

© Weatherzone 2016

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