Wetter winter outlook – BOM

The June to August rainfall outlook, released today by the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM), indicates that the majority of mainland Australia is likely to have a wetter than average winter.

In June, large parts of the country are more than likely to exceed the median rainfall, with the exceptions being southwest WA, southwest Victoria, eastern NSW and isolated areas in northern Australia – which have a fairly equal chance of a wetter or drier month.

The outlook for July points to an even stronger probability of above-average rainfall across central and eastern Australia, while the chances are more neutral for most of northern Australia, along the coast of WA, southern Victoria and Tasmania.

The wetter winter forecast is likely to bring cooler days for southern mainland Australia, while temperatures in parts of the tropical north, southeast Victoria and Tasmania are expected to be warmer than average.

The current outlook reportedly reflects the potential development of a La Niña event in the Pacific and very warm sea surface temperatures around eastern and northern Australia.