La Niña forecast to lead to wetter than average spring, drive down risk of bushfires on Gold Coast

A well-known weather phenomenon is expected to lead to heavy rain on the Gold Coast, with forecasters warning the chance of downpours is three times higher than normal.

SPRING is tipped to be wetter and warmer than average, with the Gold Coast better positioned to weather the upcoming bushfire season.

But there is more risk of cyclones and flooding across southeast Queensland.

Spring is likely to be wetter than average. Picture: Sky News Weather

Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) forecaster Kimba Wong said spring was expected to be warmer than average overall with its associated rainfall and a wetter winter lowering the risk of another catastrophic fire season.

Last year, the Seaway recorded just 0.2mm of rain in November – the driest month on record.

Bianca Stenton with her son Nate, 3, checking out the flowers on the last day of winter at the Gold Coast Regional Botanic Gardens. Picture: Jerad Williams.

“Our spring outlook is quite heavily influenced by our La Niña alert. There’s a 70 per cent chance of it falling in spring, triple the normal likelihood,” Ms Wong said.

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“The conditions generally give us wetter than average wet seasons and an earlier onset to the wet season as well, potentially more cyclones too.

“It’s putting us in a better position in terms of the fire season, much better than last year.”

BOM forecasts rainfall will exceed the average, particularly coming into summer.

To Australia’s east a large patch of cooler ocean is fuelling a likely La Nina event that can lead to more rain for the continent. Picture: Sky News Weather.

To Australia’s west, cooler water around East Africa is a sign of a negative Indian Ocean Dipole that also brings wet weather Australia’s way. Picture: Sky News Weather.

Temperatures are due to surpass the September average, but should be mostly normal by October-November. The Coast’s September average is 20.2 degrees, October is 22.2 and November is 23.7.

Wongawallan mum Bianca Stenton and son Nate, 3, were out and about enjoying the explosion of spring colour at Gold Coast Regional Botanic Gardens yesterday.

The pair were looking forward to the warmer weeks ahead.

“We’ve been loving the sunshine, I’m a big fan of the warmer weather. Summer girl, for sure,” she said. “It’s a great time to be outdoors.”