Australian weather: La Nina’s wettest centres revealed

The wetter-than-average La Nina weather phenomenon is expected to end soon after three years. Discover what towns received the most rain during that period.

Some parts of NSW have received an extra two years’ worth of rain during the La Nina weather phenomenon that experts predict will end in the coming months.

According to the Bureau of Meteorology’s latest El Nino Outlook, released this week, the La Nina system that has brought wetter-than-average conditions to most parts of southeast Australia during the past three years is weakening with a return to “neutral” or normal conditions expected during January and February.

Known as a La Nina “triple dip”, a collection of three consecutive La Nina years is considered rare, having occurred only three times since 1900.

According to an analysis of rainfall statistics by The Weekly Times, areas of western NSW have received the most rain, relative to their long-term averages, in Australia over the past three years.

Since the beginning of 2020, the small township of Ivanhoe, in the northern Riverina, has recorded 604mm – or 24 inches on the old scale – on top of its 242mm annual rainfall total with Condobolin picking up 1075mm (43 inches) on top of its 443mm yearly average.

Nearby Forbes and West Wyalong recorded an additional 1242mm (50 inches) and 1029mm (41 inches) respectively on top of their annual averages of 534mm and 464mm.

Damaged roads around Forbes in NSW after widespread flooding last year. Picture: Gary Ramage

Other NSW centres to record significantly wetter-than-normal conditions during the La Nina period included Moss Vale (1748mm on top of its 785mm annual average), Tibooburra (360mm on top of its 198mm average), Goulburn (1010mm on top of its 575mm average), Temora (908mm on top of its 525mm average), Bega (1147mm on top of its 687mm) and Dubbo (976mm on top of its 590mm average).

Century-old rainfall records were smashed across Australia during 2022 as a third-successive La Nina year delivered both hope and despair to farmers and communities.

An analysis by The Weekly Times of 208 Bureau of Meteorology weather stations across the nation showed 193, or all but a handful, recorded a wetter-than-average year with 91 measuring one-and-a-half times their normal totals and 14 recording more than double.

The biggest rain, compared to the long-term average, was in NSW which accounted for the top 10 leaderboard placings. Nowra on the NSW south coast took out the No. 1 position with 2535mm of rain for the year – or almost three times its normal average of 872mm.