The Illawarra can expect a long, hot summer – with warmer-than-usual days and nights expected to heighten the bushfire risk.
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However, forecasters say summer conditions won’t necessarily be remarkably drier or significantly wetter than normal.
The Bureau of Meteorology’s summer outlook reveals there’s a very-high likelihood both maximum and minimum temperatures will be above average in Wollongong.
There’s about a 50/50 chance of wetter than normal conditions in the city.
The bureau’s manager of long-range forecasting, Andrew Watkins, said the outlook for NSW summer rainfall overall “is for not really a strong push either towards significantly wetter or significantly drier than normal conditions”.
“At the moment we have a developing El Nino situation. There’s about a 70 per cent chance we’ll get an El Nino forming over the summer months, possibly during December,” Dr Watkins said.
“But we also have a bit of a situation in the southern Tasman Sea, there’s some higher pressures there directing a little more onshore flow, possibly reducing the odds of it being dry over NSW.”
The Bushfire and Natural Hazards Cooperative Research Centre’s latest outlook predicts above-normal fire risk across the Illawarra.
The forecast comes after November saw close to average temperatures at Bellambi and Albion Park. Rainfall in the coastal suburb during November (100.6mm) was close to the typical monthly average.
The 91.2mm recorded at Albion Park was slightly above the monthly norm.
Wollongong can expect a warm start to summer, with a top of 23 degrees forecast on Saturday and 32 on Sunday.
Andrew Pearson
Andrew grew up in the western Riverina town of Hay and has strong ties to the region. He is a former DA journo who has a passion for breaking news and has covered everything from council and politics to crime and court.
Andrew grew up in the western Riverina town of Hay and has strong ties to the region. He is a former DA journo who has a passion for breaking news and has covered everything from council and politics to crime and court.
