Winter is coming.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
And while it will certainly feel like it as a series of cold fronts sweep across the Illawarra this week, the latest outlook suggests a warmer than usual season overall.
The Bureau of Meteorology’s June-to-August forecast also predicts drier than average conditions are on the cards.
In Wollongong, there is an 80 per cent chance both the city’s minimum and maximum temperatures will exceed the median.
On the rainfall front, forecasters are watching the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) – the difference in sea surface temperature between the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean south of Indonesia.
The IOD is currently neutral, bureau senior climatologist Robyn Duell said, but climate models indicate a shift to positive.
“A positive IOD would increase the chances of drier conditions for central and southeastern Australia,” Ms Duell said.
In the shorter term, a cold front moved across NSW on Sunday.
Another cold front is expected on Tuesday morning, when minimums will drop to nine degrees in Wollongong and five degrees at Albion Park.