Weather outlook is damp, according to BoM

GET out your oilskin and gumboots, southeast Australia is in for a wet couple of weeks.

GET out your oilskin and gumboots, southeast Australia is in for a wet couple of weeks.

Bureau of Meteorology principal research scientist Harry Hendon told growers at the Birchip Cropping Expo last week there was above aver­age rainfall expected for the second half of July.

Dr Hendon said the data was generated using the ­bureau’s new four-week forecasting capability, which was not yet available to the public.

“There is somewhat of a neutral forecast up until July 16, slightly favouring wet conditions but not very extreme,” he said.

“As we go into the second week of July, the negative ­Indian Ocean Dipole signs start to re-emerge and we are back to forecasting much above normal chances of above average rainfall.

“With a wet forecast, your maximum temperatures will be below normal as well.”

Looking further out, Dr Hendon said above average rainfall would continue for the next three months.

He said while weather was being influenced by a weak-to-moderate La Nina, which affected temperatures in the Pacific Ocean, it was the warmer temperatures in the Indian Ocean that would have the biggest influence on weather in southeast Australia until early summer.

“The last time we had a big La Nina event was 2010,” he said when floods hit parts of the country.

“Some people thought it was the best thing that ever happened; some people got caught out because it rained so much.

“We are not in the same territory as we were then — yes, we are going for a wet forecast but not nearly as ­extreme as we anticipated in 2010.”