Top End at higher risk of cyclones this Wet, weather bureau warns

This wet season’s La Niña weather patter will bring more rain to the Top End and increase the likelihood of cyclones, the Bureau of Meteorology has warned.

Darwin can expect more rain this wet season and an earlier onset of the monsoon. Picture Katrina Bridgeford.

THIS wet season’s La Niña weather patter will bring more rain to the Top End and increase the likelihood of cyclones, the Bureau of Meteorology has warned.

The bureau’s Severe Weather Outlook for October through April, released on Monday, shows the tropical north is likely to see an earlier onset of the monsoon with a higher than usual risk of cyclones.

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BOM climatologist Greg Browning said while recent decades had seen a decline in the number of tropical cyclones in the region, this season was likely to buck that trend.

“On average Australia sees nine to 11 tropical cyclones each year, with four crossing the coast,” he said.

“With La Niña this year we are expecting to see slightly more tropical cyclones than average, and the first one may arrive earlier than normal.”

Mr Browning said the conditions meant it was more important that ever for communities in the north to be prepared for wild weather.

“Every northern wet season has had at least one tropical cyclone cross the Australian coast, so we can never be complacent,” he said.

“Stay informed from the very start of the tropical cyclone season in October, right though until April.”

But Mr Browning said regions further south would benefit from the increased rain, with some drought affected areas already seeing rainfall deficiencies ease and water storage levels rise.

“This fire season we’re expecting wetter than average conditions in eastern and northern Australia, so long running large bushfires are less likely,” he said.

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“However a wetter spring can lead to abundant grass growth, which could increase fire danger as it naturally dries during summer.”