La Niña comes to an end after three years with weather to return to normal in Australia
Experts say Australia’s three year reign of wet weather is FINALLY over: Here’s how it is looking in your city this weekend
- La Niña has finally ended after three years
- Rainfall will be less severe as weather returns to normal
La Niña has finally ended after spending the last three years bringing disastrous wet weather across Australia.
The country has endured three seasons of the colder atmospheric phenomenon that has brought higher levels of rainfall and set new records in some states.
Large parts of the country’s east coast have experienced devastating flooding, particularly in northern New South Wales and south-east Queensland.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration confirmed in a monthly analysis on Thursday night the weather pattern had finally come to a close.
La Niña has finally ended after spending the last three years bringing disastrous wet weather across Australia (stock image)
‘La Niña has ended and ENSO-neutral conditions are expected to continue through the Northern Hemisphere spring and early summer 2023,’ it read.
It comes after the Bureau of Meteorology forecast the wet weather pattern would end by early 2023.
It is the third triple La Niña event to hit the country since the 1900s.
The first happened between 1973 to 1975 while the second occurred between 1998 and 2000.
The latest triple La Niña helped to produce the wettest record on summer for parts of northern Australia and the east coast.
In October 2022, Sydney recorded its wettest year on record beating the record of 2,194mm set in 1950.
La Niña occurs due to the periodic cooling of ocean surface temperatures in the central and east-central equatorial Pacific.
They usually occur every three to five years, but can occur over a number of consecutive years.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration determined the end of La Niña based on several factors.
Sea surface temperatures along the equatorial Pacific are now warmer.
The end of La Niña does not mean the end of rainfall but the severity and frequency will be reduced and it will be a few weeks before the weather returns to normal
Water temperatures that are 0.8C or more below average are considered characteristic of La Niña while the current temperature is at 0.2C below average.
Sub-surface temperatures across the equatorial Pacific are also above average instead of cooler than normal.
Easterly wind anomalies are usually strong across the tropics during La Niña, but they have since weakened.
The end of La Niña does not mean the end of rainfall but the severity and frequency will be reduced.
It will be a few weeks before the weather returns to normal.
Sydney will enjoy a warm weekend with temperatures reaching a maximum of 30C on Saturday with showers beginning on Sunday.
Brisbane is in for a wet few days with rain and showers scattered throughout the city until Tuesday with the mercury reaching a high of 31C.
Melbourne will endure cloudy conditions on Saturday with showers also forecast for Sunday.