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Heavy rains on the weekend but drought likely in Australia in 2014



As Canberra experienced a ‘complex weather pattern’ and Sydney received rains, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) predicted a hotter and drier than usual year due to an El Nino climate pattern forming in the tropical Pacific Ocean (Canberra Times, March 25, 2014).
A United Airline 747 was forced to land at Canberra Airport as high winds and rainfall spread across the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and eastern New South Wales (NSW) on Monday. Two aircraft were diverted from Sydney to Canberra.


At least 10 millimitres fell on Canberra yesterday and winds reached speeds up to 30 km/hr. The BOM said it was a ‘complex weather pattern’ coming from Queensland. The thunderstorm was more intense on the coast, rather than in Canberra. Sydney also experienced the force of the storms with almost 100 millimetres of rain in an hour at lunch-time on Monday. In Sydney, one man drowned, two were struck by lightning, and at least six people were trapped in their cars in flooded streets.
Residents in Sydney’s southwest were asked to monitor their water use, and to avoid using dishwashers and washing machines to conserve drinking water supplies. This was due to the heavy storms forcing the shutdown of a major water filtration plant. The precautions were expected to be only for 24 hours as the rainwater put excessive pressure on the Macarthur Filtration Plant, reported Canberra Times. The storms of recent days had triggered a release of silt into the Cataract Dam which reduced the quality of water reaching the plant. The water authority began spilling the dam to reduce the water’s turbidity, and the authority stated that water was not expected to run out.  Today the plant was back online and stable. This is the second time in four months that the filtration plant has been disrupted due to heavy rain.
Despite the rain, the BOM predicted a hotter, drier year for the remainder of 2014. Surface waters in the equatorial Pacific have warmed significantly in the past two months, said the Bureau. Temperatures in some areas of Australia rose half a degree in the past two weeks and as much as 5-6 degrees above average. The Bureau said 1997 was probably the last time they’ve seen such a temperature anomaly.


El Ninos are patterns that affect global climate, in which warming waters in the central eastern Pacific cause easterly winds to weaken and even reverse. These mean that the rainfall patterns shift, bringing lower than usual rainfall to the eastern coast of Australia. On the other side of the Pacific, it may cause the western coast of America, in regions such as California, to receive higher than usual rainfall. Temperatures tend to be higher in El Nino years. Eight of the 10 warmest years on record in Australia were El Nino years, according to a University of Melbourne climatologist.
For areas, other than Sydney and Canberra where rains fell on the weekend, about 80% of Queensland and northern NSW had already declared a drought, prompting the federal government to earmark $280 million in low-cost loans to help farmers stay in business.
The latest climate models project continued warming of the Pacific waters in the coming months with surface temperatures reaching El Nino thresholds during the southern hemisphere winter, said the BOM. This means reduced rainfall during Australia’s winter and spring.


Melbourne registered its first 4-day consecutive temperatures above 41C, while Sydney recorded 19 consecutive days above 26C up until Sunday – a first for any season in 155 years. Adelaide too recorded 13 days above 40C in January and February this year.


http://www.canberratimes.com.au/environment/weather/wild-weather-diverts-planes-to-canberra-airport-20140324-35do4.html#ixzz2wxNYefut


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