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Central and Southern Tablelands Weather
NSW Australia.
Relevant Information to understanding our weather.
Central and Southern Tableland's climate descriptions from Michael Thompson's Climate and Weather Atlas of Australia. See also his excellent description of typical seasonal weather charts.
What affects us most here in the Central and Southern Tablelands is whether the sea off the west coast of Australia is cold or warm. Warmer waters in the Indian Ocean increase
evaporation, and therefore the likelihood of moisture bearing North West cloud bands which bring us much of our rain. The other main source is from Cold fronts from the south west.
Another indicator of the potential for possible rainfall events is the current position of the "MJO" The MJO (or 40 day wave) is a band of low air pressure originating off the east coast of central Africa travelling eastward across the Indian Ocean and northern Australia roughly every 30 to 60 days. Research has shown the MJO to be a useful indicator of the timing of potential rainfall events. Here on the Central and Southern Tablelands conditions for rainfall seem best when the MJO is in phases 4-6. See Latest MJO info and  Current Situation from the Agricultural Production Systems Research Unit (APSRU)
- SST (Sea Surface Temperature) anomaly maps. Latest small chart and archives produced twice weekly by NOAA's OSDPD (Office of Satellite Data Processing and Distribution) Last months from the Qld DPI/DNR (Use PgDn key to show map),
 14th April 07 The next two links have been non-operational since Nov 06 but should be back in operation in a few weeks
Current daily large map from the US Navy's FNMOC's NCODA Model.
Note:- The colour and scales on these maps are not the same. An Archive of US Navy's charts can be found here
- Animated maps comparing the development of the last 4 Major El Nino's
in the Pacific, from NOAA. The Indian Ocean is not shown, so these are shown for interest's sake rather than for anything else.
What Of The Future?
- Are we entering a long "Dry Weather Cycle?" In early April 2004 some of the media reported the comments of Professor Paul Perkins, ANU, that Southern NSW could be entering a 40 year "dry" period. Read the Report and listen to an interview with Professor Perkins.
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