Australia saw its coldest spring in decades and wettest on record for some regions
By ABC Meteorologist Tom Saunders
Posted Tue 29 Nov 2022 at 10:17amTuesday 29 Nov 2022 at 10:17am
Mt Hotham ski resort looked reminiscent of mid-winter in mid-November.(Supplied: hothamalpineresort)
Spring was the coldest in decades for parts of Australia, a rare feat considering the influence of climate change ensures nearly every season is now warmer than normal.
Daytime temperatures were especially low compared to recent years, including the coldest in 30 years for Melbourne, Adelaide, and Canberra.
This spring was also the wettest on record for much of south-east Australia, with ongoing flooding across the Murray-Darling Basin.
An unusually cold season
The exceptionally cloudy conditions this spring kept maximum temperatures well down on recent years.
Melbourne, Adelaide and Canberra all shivered through maximums at least one degree below average and the lowest since 1992. Brisbane's spring was the coldest in 12 years, and for Perth it was the coldest in six.
Sydney's maximums were the lowest in four years but the mean temperatures, which includes the minimums, was the coldest since 2003 and the city failed to reach 30C for the first time in three decades.
Hobart was colder in 2021 and Darwin does not have a spring.
Even more unusual is some western suburbs of Sydney, including Penrith, failed to hit 30 degrees for the first time on record.
This spring was only the second time in a decade the mean maximum averaged across Australia was below the long-term average.
Of the 42 seasons since winter 2012, the only other season with colder than normal days was summer 2020-2021.
A record wet spring
Rain this spring was unsurprisingly high factoring in the stacked deck of rain-producing climate drivers.
It was the wettest spring on record for south-east Australia, including NSW, Victoria and the Murray Basin. Canberra broke its spring rainfall record, while Sydney's spring was the wettest in 27 years.
Spring chill's surprise trigger
In many ways this spring just followed the script and had no chance of being the often romanticised warm and sunny version depicted in fairy tales.
Throughout the past 20 years only one other spring has been colder than normal for maximums, and that was 2010 — also a year with a strong negative Indian Ocean Dipole and La Niña.
What was a surprise though was the abnormally cold November which eventuated after numerous pulses of polar air escaped from Antarctica and took a vacation on our shores.
The result was rare late spring snow as far north as Central West NSW and the coldest November on record for some towns, including Forbes and Ivanhoe, where maximums were more than five below average.
Is there hope for summer?
The short answer is yes, but it's closer to a glimmer than a lock.
The Indian Ocean is no longer pumping moisture across our interior and the current La Niña is already showing signs of weakening, however it is too early to say whether this weakening will continue through December or is just one of many regular fluctuations in strength.
When La Niña does finally fizzle at some stage during the next few months it won't guarantee the end of the rain.
The Southern Ocean is trapped in a positive phase and sea surface temperatures surrounding Australia are warmer than normal, both conducive to producing above-average rain across eastern Australia.
The wildcards this summer are tropical cyclones and tropical lows, which given the right trajectory can bring heavy rain and flooding to both tropical and sub-tropical Australia.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-11-30/ ... /101712340
Australia's coldest spring in decades
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clusterchuck
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Australia's coldest spring in decades
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Those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.
Law of War. Military Occupancy. COG active. Mil-Civ Alliance
Law of War. Military Occupancy. COG active. Mil-Civ Alliance
Re: Australia's coldest spring in decades
Oh it's "climate change" now, not "global warming". A strategic name change
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If you aren't in over your head, how do you know how tall you are?
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clusterchuck
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Re: Australia's coldest spring in decades
Control of language is a major part of public manipulations. Other examples include CDC redefining terms "vaccine" and "immunity".
Because... sCiEnCe
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Those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.
Law of War. Military Occupancy. COG active. Mil-Civ Alliance
Law of War. Military Occupancy. COG active. Mil-Civ Alliance
Re: Australia's coldest spring in decades
The dry adiabatic lapse rate is 3°C per thousand feet or 5.5°F per thousand feet.
Mount Hotham is 1,861 metres / 6105 feet high.
Temperatures at the summit are 18.3°C colder or 33.55°F colder.
So of course there's snow there.
Btw, Australia is in the southern hemisphere so the Australian winter is presently taking place.
Mount Hotham is 1,861 metres / 6105 feet high.
Temperatures at the summit are 18.3°C colder or 33.55°F colder.
So of course there's snow there.
Btw, Australia is in the southern hemisphere so the Australian winter is presently taking place.
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The very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common:
They don't alters their views to fit the facts, they alter the facts to fit the views.
They don't alters their views to fit the facts, they alter the facts to fit the views.