Australia – get ready for a warm May!
As we enter into May, Aussies can expect to see the unusually warm weather remain for the last month of Autumn.
May will continue to be mild as it follows the hottest single April day ever recorded, a climate outlook for the next three months from the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) revealed.
However, the weather is predicted to take a turn for June and July, with the cold winter chill setting in.
The bureau said April 9 was the warmest April day in Australia since records began, with the average across the country almost reaching 35C.
Image credit: Bureau of Meteorology
“Autumn in the south felt more like summer,” BOM climatologist Felicity Gamble said.
Across the nation, maximum temperatures for early April were 8C above the average for the time of year.
In south-eastern Western Australia, South Australia, western NSW and western Victoria, maximum temperatures were 12C higher than normal.
“The prolonged heatwave in early April was exceptional. New April temperature records were set in many parts of the country, over several days,” Ms Gamble said.
There is a greater than 70 per cent chance of the above-average temperatures to continue throughout May.
Image credit: Bureau of Meteorology
In northern WA, the NT, southern Queensland and most of NSW, there is more than 80 per cent chance for temperatures to soar higher than the average in the next month.
“But as we move into winter, there’s less chance of warmer than average temperatures,” Ms Gamble said.
However, the exception to this is southern and eastern Victoria and Tasmania, where there is expected to be a mild winter.
Warm sea surface temperatures around New Zealand and low air pressures over the Tasman Sea are forecast to continue, which could decrease the westerly winds that bring moisture into southern Australia.
“Below-average rainfall is likely for parts of southwest Western Australia and western Victoria. The north is likely to be wetter than average, but it’s the start of the dry season, so it won’t be as wet as recent months,” she said.