Don't rush out to grab a new winter coat, this winter could be warmer than usual, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Despite wet and windy weather moving across the country this week, triggering severe weather warnings in parts of NSW, Victoria and Tasmania, June to August is likely to be unseasonably warm.
"There is a front moving across the country, bringing rainfall and likely to be accompanied by storms and severe weather, including damaging wind gusts," BoM climatology specialist Caitlin Minney said
She said there was another potential cold front moving across Western Australia by the weekend, and into early next week.
The minimum and maximum temperatures of the winter season were likely to be above average across Australia, Ms Minney said.
She said the eastern states would specifically have an increased chance of unusually warm temperatures, being in the top 20 per cent of historical winters.
But she cautioned that typical winter weather was still expected.
"We do expect typical winter weather patterns, such as thunderstorms and east coast lows that can bring lots of wet and windy weather and cold frosty mornings that are typical during winter," she said.
Climate change drives warmer weather
BoM's winter prediction follows an Autumn that was warmer than usual for most of Australia.
Ms Minney said May generally had warmer mean temperatures but southern areas of Victoria and South Australia saw cooler than average minimum temperatures.
BoM recorded Autumn mean temperatures were around 0.5 degrees above the 1961 to 1990 averages, with overall rainfall 26 per cent higher than the historical average.
Ms Minney said a lot of Australia can expect rainfall typical to the winter season except for north-eastern South Australia, parts of Western Australia, some parts of southern and western Queensland, and north-western NSW.
June could bring below-average rain for the eastern states, with the rest of winter seeing usual levels, she said.
"The main driver of above-average temperatures is the climate change signal that we're seeing for those consistently warmer than average temperatures.," Ms Minney said.
"We are seeing that warming trend of climate change in our outlooks."
Jessica Belzycki
Journalist at the Newcastle Herald.
Journalist at the Newcastle Herald.
