Bad news Australia: Christmas Day is going to be a wet one
Summer is officially set to arrive in days, but it seems that we won’t be blessed with sunny days anytime soon, as Australia’s east coast is expected to experience heavy rain fall.
December is predicted to be wet and gloomy with the soggy weather leading all the way up until Christmas day.
According to The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM), there is a 65 per cent chance of rainfall in the month of December with some areas being affected more than others.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, senior climatologist at the BOM, Agata Imielska, said that the rain will give drought-stricken farmers something to celebrate as some areas are expected to receive close to 400 millimetres of rain.
“It’s a pleasant surprise for areas especially for areas that have been quite dry,” she said.
But despite the good news, the BOM doesn’t expect the consecutive rain fall to have an effect on the drought.
“It would be nicer to see the signal across the entirety of the state and particularly west of the Great Dividing Range,” said Ms Imielska.
“Still better than seeing a dry outlook obviously.”
In NSW, the western areas are expected to remain fairly dry as most of the rain is expected to fall throughout the eastern and south-eastern parts of the state.
But the rain isn’t going to stop summer in its tracks as residents in NSW have been warned of extremely hot days and nights towards the end of the year.
The BOM is predicting a number of heatwaves and increased chances of bushfires despite the wet weather.
“Sometimes that rainfall can actually stimulate some growth which can then dry out and actually pose a potential bushfire risk,” said Ms Imielska said.
Since January, NSW has been dangerously dry as it has received less than 20 per cent of its expected rain fall, with Australia going through the driest July in 20 years.
Speaking to Weatherzone, Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick, the heatwave expert for the ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes, said that Australia should brace themselves for a very dry and extremely warm summer.
“We are heading towards an El Niño summer, so we are more likely to have hotter and more extreme weather,” said Dr Perkins-Kirkpatrick.
“We should certainly be worried.”
El Niño is a phenomenon that occurs during severe droughts and causes extreme temperatures that increases the risk of bushfires and decreases the chance of rain and can last up to two years.
Are you looking forward to more wet weather? Let us know in the comments below.