Cancel that ski trip! Australia to swelter through an ‘unusually warm’ winter
Aussies are in for an unusually warm winter, with many of the country’s capitals set to reach higher than average temperatures.
According to the Bureau of Meteorology, large parts of NSW, Queensland, Victoria, Tasmania, WA and South Australia are likely to experience higher than normal temperatures over the next month.
This winter is expected to surpass last year’s benchmark as the warmest winter since records began in 1910.
The average daily temperature was 1.53 degrees Celsius above the long-term winter average, with every winter since 2012 warmer than the 30-year average.
Winter sports enthusiasts are being warned this could threaten the ski season again after resorts suffered one of the worst snow seasons in two decades last year.
Large parts of NSW, Queensland, Victoria, Tasmania, WA and South Australia are likely to exceed normal temperatures over the next month, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
Data from Snowy Hydro showed that snow depth during the 2023 season was the lowest in 17 years in the higher reaches of the Snowy Mountains.
At lower elevations, snow levels were the lowest in 50 years.
BOM senior climatologist Simon Grainger argued that the warmer forecast does not necessarily rule out good snow conditions.
“Snowfall in southeastern Australia is actually driven by cold fronts and weather systems that we can predict at short notice,” Dr Grainger told the paper. ABC.
“So we could still have a single, major weather event that could make a significant difference to the overall snow season.”
A warm winter outlook doesn’t mean there won’t be individual days of frost, colder weather or snow, but rather that the odds favor warmer-than-normal temperatures throughout the season, he added.
Winter sports enthusiasts are being warned this could threaten the ski season again after resorts suffered one of the worst snow problems in two decades last year
Experts are turning their attention to the possibility of a La Nina weather pattern.
There are signs this could develop over the coming months, meaning it would significantly increase the chances of a wet spring and summer across most of Australia.
‘Although there are some predictions [La Niña]and any chance of a positive dipole developing in the Indian Ocean, it’s all still neutral at the moment,” Dr Grainger said.
‘And so we don’t see a very strong signal in the rainfall.’
BOM last month announced the end of the 2023-2024 El Nino event, which would have increased the likelihood of a dry winter in spring in eastern Australia.
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