Australia facing wet, cold summer weather from La Nina, polar vortex

Australia could receive some welcome rain throughout a cooler summer, but the weather could pose some dangers.

Australia could be in for a wet and wild summer thanks to a “polar vortex” in Antarctica and the seasonal La Nina weather pattern.

Weatherzone meteorologist Ben Domensino said the polar vortex was “unusually strong for this late in the year” and could bring more rain over the summer months.

The southern hemisphere's polar vortex is unusually strong for this late in the year. This will promote a positive Southern Annular Mode (SAM) as we head into summer which, coupled with La Niña, increases the likelihood of above average rain over eastern Australia. pic.twitter.com/bgi7x5Oqb4

— Ben Domensino (@Ben_Domensino) November 12, 2020

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Parts of the country have experienced cold snaps throughout the past month, with Sydney recording one of its coldest days on record for November on Thursday last week.

Bureau of Meteorology modelling also showed we were likely to receive more rain this summer, with parts of the country having a more than 80 per cent chance of exceeding the usual median rainfall.

The largest of those areas is Tropical North Queensland, but other parts of the state, particularly the drought-affected southwest, are less likely.

The increased rainfall could also bring lower temperatures.

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Bureau of Meteorology modelling showing the likelihood areas will exceed median rainfall.

Queensland’s drought situation at the start of August.

It’s not what you typically think of for the season but a wetter and cooler summer might be what the country needs after a horror bushfire season in 2019-20.

It’s not without a potential for other disasters however.

The Bureau of Meteorology warns tropical cyclones may come earlier and with increased frequency during La Nina in its latest tropical climate note, where it also warned the current La Nina is likely to be a “relatively strong event … based on historical precedents”.

The Bureau said it is currently “not as strong” as the last La Nina, which spanned 2010-12 and was a “strong event that started early and continued over an extended period”.

During that time Queensland suffered some of its worst flooding. (It was also the strongest La Nina since 1973, just before similar flooding occurred in the state.)

Victoria also experienced one of its worst flood events in 2011.