Warm Sydney weather set to continue into May before possible cold snap and heavy rains

DON’T pack away your shorts and T-shirts just yet as Sydney’s balmy temperatures are expected to stick around for quite some time.

Online weather pic of Opera house

DON’T pack away your shorts and T-shirts just yet as Sydney’s balmy temperatures are expected to stick around for quite some time before things turn icy.

Autumn temperatures have pretty much failed to materialise so far this year with averages for March and April significantly higher than their long-term averages.

The average temperature for March was 26.8, two degrees above the long-term average of 24.8 and so far in April the average has been 24.8, 2.4 degrees higher than the long-term average.

Just three days in April saw the maximum temperature fall below the long-term average of 22.4 degrees.

Online weather pic of Sydney CBD from the Quay

And things aren’t looking to cool down much as we move into May with the first few days expected to be in the mid to late 20s in the city and up to 30 in the west.

That is significantly higher than the long-term average of 19.5 for the month.

“We’ve had a persistent high over the Tasman for quite a few days now and it’s not going to move away any time soon and continues to drag warmer air from the north,” Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Neale Fraser told The Daily Telegraph.

“We’ve got a rain band coming through ahead of a front but the front itself is not very strong so there won’t be much of an air mass change.”

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But don’t get too used to life in the new tropics, with a good chance that temperatures will plummet and the clouds will roll in filled with heavy rain towards the end of winter.

Online weather pic of old building in the Rocks

The higher temperatures are a result of El Niño which brings hot, dry conditions to the country, but that system is currently breaking down and could make way for the opposite - La Nina.

Based on international models, there is a 50 per cent chance of La Niña forming and with that often comes the depressing combination of lower than average temperatures and higher than usual rainfall.

“La Niña is often, but not always, associated with above-average winter-spring rainfall over northern, central and eastern Australia,” the Bureau of Meteorology warned.

Significant rainfall in the second half of the year is also being influenced by record warm temperatures in the Indian Ocean.

“The warmth in the Indian Ocean will likely provide extra moisture for rain systems as they cross Australia during the southern autumn,” the Bureau’s statement read.

So keep the thongs and swimmers at the ready for the next week or so, but make sure your woollies (and umbrella) aren’t too far from reach.

Originally published as Warm Sydney weather set to continue into May before possible cold snap and heavy rains