After months of ordinary weather, the Bureau of Meteorology has declared the La Nina event is finally over.
But we might not be out of the woods for too long with the bureau predicting a 50 per cent chance we’ll see another La Nina event later this year.
The end of La Nina comes after a cooler summer and some of the wettest months we’ve seen for years.
A massive 1951mm of rain has been recorded at the Gold Coast Seaway between November and May.
BOM has now shifted to a La Nina Watch, which means another ordinary summer could be on the way.
“Out in the Pacific Ocean, we’ve seen some changes in the sea surface temperatures and also the temperatures beneath the surface and the trade winds, which all indicate we’re moving back into neutral conditions,” BOM Long-Range Forecaster Dr Andrew Watkins said.
“But we also are aware that the models are suggesting we could go back into La Nina later in the year, and hence we’ve moved to La Nina Watch.”
Dr Watkins warned that even on a La Nina Watch, we’re still likely to see wetter and cooler conditions in the coming months.
“We’ve got several other climate drivers affecting us at the moment. It’s a developing Indian Ocean Dipole. We also see quite warm temperatures in the oceans around northern Australia and off Western Australia.
“Likewise, most of the international models are also suggesting above-average rainfall for Australia over the coming season.”
