Expect less rain, and more heat, warns BOM experts

GRIM news Top Enders, weather experts at the Bureau of Meteorology are predicting a slow, hot start to this year’s wet season with less rainfall than usual

Gus a 3 year old cattle dog cools off at Nightcliff Beach as the humidity starts to rise Picture GLENN CAMPBELL

GRIM news Top Enders, weather experts at the Bureau of Meteorology are predicting a slow, hot start to this year’s wet season with less rainfall than usual.

BOM’s Weekly Tropical Climate Note, released this week, showed less than average rainfall was likely across northern NT from October through to December.

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“In the shorter term, the second half of September is likely to be drier than average across most of the country,” BOM said.

“October is showing particularly strong chances for almost all of mainland Australia of being a drier than usual month.”

Sebastian, 8, and Eve, 5, Cunningham will have to eat more ice cream if it keeps getting hotter. PICTURE: KERI MEGELUS

In more bad news, BOM also said a warmer end to the year was likely right across the nation. “Daytime temperatures are very likely to be warmer than average for most of Australia for the remainder of 2019 and early 2020,” forecasters warned.

“A warm spell is expected during the second half of September, with daytime temperatures likely to be 2-3 degrees above average for much of Australia south of the tropics.”

BOM said nights were likely to be warmer than usual over eastern NSW, southern Queensland, eastern NT and most of WA, when averaged over October to December.

It’s grim news following last year’s below average wet season.

From October to April 2018-19, the NT recorded its driest wet season since 1992. And BOM said it was also the “hottest wet season on record”.

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“It was the warmest on record for the Northern Territory for maximum, minimum and mean temperatures for the October 2018 to April 2019 period, with daytime temperatures especially high,” it said.